Honest Expectations
by RayneXHatake
Summary: They were ninja and expected few things in life. Sakura expected him to love and trust her with his secrets. Kakashi expected her to be patient and faithful. While Naruto, poor Naruto, only expected to get her heart broken. Kaka/Saku. Kaka/Female!Naruto
1. Goodbye To A Cause

The plot bunnies have been going absolutely crazy the past few months and have come up with some really cool stories. Most are twists on old cliche's, but quite a few are original. I'm excited to see them being so productive though, usually they get lazy this time of year. Ahh, must be the weather?

Anyway, let me start off by saying that I'm not a huge fan of Sakura, don't get me wrong she's a good medic, but I really can't stand her as a person/character. Which is kind of why I'm doing this. I'm challenging myself to write Sakura in a good light. I'm not going to bash the girl, I find those stories to be completely useless, but she's going to have some problems, just like Kakashi is and just like Naruto is.

Secondly, Naruto is female in this story. It's kind of my niche. I write girls better than I do boys being a girl myself. With that said, I plan to keep Naruto in character as much as I can, which is a challenge because I'm trying to keep Kakashi in character as well. -_- Both are being difficult to say the least.

Thirdly, in this story, Pein didn't happen. Madara isn't going to cause any trouble and it's pretty much just focused on this relationship. I know I can write action and drama, but I figured throwing in romance as a main topic would be fun for once. ^_^

Any-who, if I would call this anything, I would call it an anti-KakaSaku story with random bits of fluff thrown throughout. I really do try hard to make their relationship work. I'm playing off of an old cliche where Sakura and Kakashi randomly fall in love. Don't worry this version isn't as cliche as that sounds. So if you're still with me, check it out and enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I'm a poor, starving, and struggling college student, if I owned Naruto then I wouldn't be poor, starving, struggling, or a college student. **

* * *

Konohagakure, the mighty village hidden beneath the towering trees of the Shodai Hokage, was a relatively quiet village. Other than the occasional blast from the higher ranked training grounds or the faint sound of the Ninja Academy's Iruka-sensei yelling at disruptive students, not much could cause the villagers to cover their ears to protect their hearing.

Unless, of course, Konoha's number one, knuckled headed ninja was wrecking havoc around the community.

Said genin was currently standing in front of the broken remnants of Team Seven, bidding them farewell as she prepared to leave on a three year training trip with Jiraiya. With one hand on her orange clad hip and the other pointing enthusiastically at her teammates, Uzumaki Naruto made good on her title of 'Troublemaker of Konoha.' Nearby shopkeepers and shinobi alike looked at the girl in distaste before cradling hurt ears with their hands.

"Don't worry, Kakashi-sensei, I'll make sure to train hard and get stronger! Strong enough to bring Sasuke-teme back for you, Sakura-chan! Dattebayo!"

Hatake Kakashi, the silver haired sensei of Team Seven, smiled behind his mask and resisted the urge to clasp his hands around his ears. The girl just didn't realize how loud she was being and no matter how long they had been together, Kakashi doubted he'd ever get used to the intensity of the blonde. Instead of embarrassing himself and Naruto, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and slouched against the tall column that supported the gates of the village entrance.

Sakura, the pink haired teammate of Naruto's, smiled sadly before walking over and hugging the blonde haired girl. Naruto looked startled by the action, her blue eyes widened in shock before she returned the hug to her friend.

"Good luck, Naruto. When you get back we'll both go after Sasuke-kun together."

Naruto pulled away from the girl and gave her a winning smile. "You're right! We'll both get stronger so we can bring the teme back and then we can be a team again."

"Come on, gaki. We haven't got all day."

Naruto turned to the white haired man behind her before sticking her tongue out at him and turning back to the remainder of her team. "I'll see you guys real soon. Don't forget about me while I'm gone!"

Naruto ran forward to catch up with Jiraiya before suddenly turning around and racing back to the village gates. Ignoring the tiny, insignificant blush forming across her cheeks, she tackled Kakashi's taller frame and quickly gave him a 'goodbye' hug. Kakashi tensed for only a second before chuckling and ruffling the blonde locks.

"Take care, Naruto-chan."

With those words said, Uzumaki Naruto left the village with Jiraiya, the Gama Sennin. Three years wasn't really that long of a wait and before they knew it Naruto would be back wrecking havoc and endearing the village to her.

Kakashi watched her go and remembered the too innocent girl that joined his team just a short year ago. She still had the stupid naivety that made her a liability, but the stubborn determination and pure luck made her a worthy comrade. Sakura stuck around long enough to tell Kakashi about her newest training schedule before running off for her first official day of training as Tsunade's apprentice. Kakashi returned to his house thinking about his unpredictable student, all blonde hair, blue eyes and horrendous orange jumpsuit.

Just outside of Konoha, not even a mile down the road, Jiraiya turned to his newest student and leered at her. His hands were already itching to take out his notepad after the little display he just witnessed. Naruto's cheeks were barely pink by now, but there was an obvious pep in her step that wasn't there before.

"So Naruto, do you crush on all older men with white hair or is Kakashi just an exception?"

Her head turned so fast Jiraiya was afraid she would snap her own neck as she glared harshly at him. "Pervert! I don't know what you're talking about and, besides, his hair is silver, not white."

Jiraiya giggled as he reached into his vest and pulled out his trusty notepad and pen. His next story was going to be a bestseller; he could already feel it.

* * *

_Five and a half years later_…..

* * *

"Naruto. Come on, Naruto. He's gone."

Naruto didn't answer. She stood before the rapidly cooling body with a mixture of horror and shock plastered across her face. The gently falling rain didn't even faze her as the water soaked into her clothes and chilled her to the bone. Her mind didn't even register the small tremors shaking her body as her internal temperature dropped to a dangerous level. She just stared between her bloody hand and the gaping wound in her one-time friend's chest. As Naruto stood rooted to the spot, all she could think about was how fitting it was that she put her hand through his chest this time around.

"Naruto."

"I need to bury the body."

Jiraiya looked down at the rain soaked ground and cleared his throat. "We have to cut off his head and burn the body. You can't just bury him." When Jiraiya looked up again, Naruto was staring at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry Naruto, but it's protocol."

"I'll do it then."

Jiraiya shook his head and stepped forward to grab her arm. "No, you don't…"

"I said I would do it." Jiraiya stepped back and let his arm fall to his side. Naruto bit the inside of her lips and furiously wiped the rain out of her eyes. "I owe that much to him. Can you give me a few minutes?"

Jiraiya sighed deeply. "Fine. I'll be back at camp if you need me."

As Jiraiya left, Naruto was alone to face the task before her. She smiled softly before reaching down and grasping the barely stiff hand of her ex-teammate Uchiha Sasuke. The Uchiha clan was officially wiped out, unless Itachi was still around somewhere.

For the first time in a long time, Naruto cried.

* * *

Jiraiya wasn't the type of man to worry excessively about things he couldn't control.

When his prized student, Namikaze Minato, told his white haired sensei that he would perform a complicated sealing that would end his life in order to save countless others, Jiraiya didn't even bat an eye. He felt remorse that his student was making the decision, but deep inside he knew that Minato was making the best decision. Minato was doing his duty as Hokage and sacrificing everything to protect his people.

He mourned for the family lost that night, but he didn't worry about the blonde haired little girl left behind. Even now as he watched the older version of the infant push uneaten food around her plate, he wasn't worried about her. She was strong, just like her Mom and Dad; she would get through this.

The crackling of the fire did nothing to bring Naruto out of her silent stupor, nor did the promise of ramen whenever they returned to Konoha. She hadn't said a single word since she returned to camp with Sasuke's head and chokuto clutched in her slightly shaking hands. Jiraiya didn't like her silence.

"What do you want to do, gaki?"

Naruto picked at the food on her plate and sighed. "I miss Konoha, but I'm not ready to go back."

"You can't run forever."

The plate in Naruto's hand cracked as she looked up with fire in her eyes. "I'm not running from anything. I just can't go back right now. I'm heading back to Mount Myoboku for a few months. I need to clear my head before I go back."

Jiraiya scowled at the blonde haired girl in front of him. "Tsunade's going to be pissed and I'll have to deal with it."

Naruto snorted at the man. "Just buy her some sake and take her gambling. She'll be fine. She should be used to it by now, we're late by almost three years already."

"Yeah, but I haven't been keeping up with those updates like I'm supposed to. I haven't sent her a report in almost an entire year."

"That's your own fault."

Jiraiya rolled his eyes before turning deadly serious. "I'll head back to Konoha then. Someone has to inform them of Sasuke's death."

Naruto closed her eyes and let out a shuddering breath. "Will you tell Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei?"

Jiraiya picked up a stick and stirred the embers of their campfire. "Isn't that something you should do?"

"How do I go back and tell Sakura that I killed the love of her life? Then turn around and tell Kakashi that I killed his student? I can't Jiraiya. You're perfect for the job because you would have rather seen him dead anyway."

"Naruto."

"No, it's the truth. You wanted me to forget about chasing after him and now I can't because he's gone. I can't chase after a ghost."

"Naruto."

Naruto jumped up and picked up her pack before nodding Jiraiya's direction. "I've already contacted the toads. They're going to reverse summon me in a few minutes. Please go to Konoha and see them for me, especially Kakashi-sensei."

Jiraiya stood up as well and slyly looked back at Naruto. Even during such a serious conversation he couldn't help but mess with the blonde. "Want me to give him a kiss for you too?"

Naruto growled low in her throat before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Jiraiya could barely hear her yelling 'ero-sennin' at him as she disappeared. The Sennin was left with one task and that was to head to Konoha. Something he wasn't exactly looking forward too.

You see, Jiraiya and Naruto's original training timeline of three years didn't go exactly as planned. In fact, it was pretty safe to say that their original timeline was blown completely out of the water. Three years into their training Naruto was unexpectedly allowed entrance to Mount Myoboku to start her sage training.

It wasn't a big deal for Jiraiya because he had already taught Naruto everything he wanted to teach her, but it was a problem for Tsunade. The female Hokage hadn't taken Naruto leaving for Myoboku without permission very well. She wasn't upset about Naruto's training, but she was upset with Jiraiya for not telling her.

All of Naruto's friends and comrades feared the worst when the girl didn't return after her appointed return date. Then to have Jiraiya saunter in the village gates a year later without the blonde was just another slap in the face to the Godaime.

Needless to say, Jiraiya nearly didn't survive his meeting with the Hokage that afternoon. After that meeting, Jiraiya was required to supply Tsunade with updates on Naruto's progress and whereabouts every three months. Jiraiya protested the frequency of the updates, but Tsunade was firm in her decision. She needed to make sure her little sister was safe and in good health wherever she was at. Eventually Jiraiya saw he wasn't going to get out of the reports and agreed.

Jiraiya sighed again and headed towards Konoha with Uchiha Sasuke's head inside one of Naruto's storage scrolls. One of his toads was already en route to Konoha to inform Tsunade he needed to talk with her. He hadn't been inside the village in almost an entire year.

The last time he delivered a report on Naruto he hadn't even stayed inside the village longer than two hours. With an hour-and-a-half of that time spent with Kakashi, by request of Naruto.

The girl was constantly talking about her 'Kakashi-sensei' and wanted Jiraiya to make sure the other man was well. Jiraiya couldn't keep the lecherous grin off his face whenever he thought about Naruto's little crush that she adamantly denied existing. Innocent admiration she called it, not a crush.

Jiraiya snorted at his own thoughts as he perfectly recalled the exact tone and intensity of Naruto's voice whenever she denied having a crush on the older man.

"Innocent admiration my ass. Are you laughing your ass off watching this Minato? Because I know I am."

* * *

Tsunade was not a very happy Hokage at the moment. On top of the fact that she hadn't heard anything from Jiraiya in over a year, he suddenly sends a toad to her house in the middle of the night and requests an important meeting with her and Kakashi. So there she sits with the Copy Ninja, fearing the worst whenever Jiraiya saunters into her office.

"Tsunade-chan, maybe you should try getting some more sleep. You look horrible."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask as Tsunade gripped the edge of her desk and snapped off a chunk of the wood. Mentally he was chuckling at the enraged look on his Hokage's face and the innocent one on Jiraiya's. He gave Tsunade exactly two minutes before she tried to stake Jiraiya with the ragged wood in her hand. So to save himself the trouble of having to explain away Jiraiya's unfortunate death he quickly redirected the conversation back to the original matter at hand.

"Jiraiya-sama, you said you needed to meet with us?"

Jiraiya's playful expression turned deadly serious as he motioned for Kakashi to sit down. "You're gonna want to sit down for this, Kakashi-kun."

Tsunade sat down as well and silently hoped her cursed necklace hadn't taken another loved one from her. "Jiraiya, where's Naruto?"

"She's at Mount Myoboku. She's fine, at least physically."

Kakashi's charcoal eye narrowed at the sennin's words. "What do you mean by that?"

"A few days ago we ran into Uchiha Sasuke. Of course, Naruto ran into the battle like the twelve-year-old idiot she used to be and confronted him. They fought and Naruto won."

Kakashi's eye widened slightly in surprise as Tsunade's eyes shone with pride. "She's bringing Sasuke home? She actually accomplished what everyone thought was impossible? Way to go gaki! Of course, I hope you explained to her that Sasuke isn't going to be welcomed back to the village with open arms. He did betray Konoha."

Jiraiya shook his head and pulled out the scroll containing Sasuke's head. "Naruto isn't bringing Sasuke home, I did." He laid the scroll on Tsunade's desk and stepped away. "When they fought it was to the death and Naruto won. She killed Uchiha Sasuke."

Tsunade's eyes quickly flicked over to see Kakashi's reaction. It didn't matter that Sasuke was a missing ninja and traitor to Konoha, the boy was at one time Kakashi's student. Even the Sandaime continued to love Orochimaru after the man betrayed Konoha. Tsunade simply wanted to see how the silver haired man was going to take the news and her elite shinobi didn't disappoint her. The only visible sign of his shock was a slightly widened eye and a suddenly rigid posture so unnoticeable that no one else would have realized he reacted. It was Kakashi that reached over and removed Sasuke's head from the scroll.

"You didn't remove his Sharingan."

Jiraiya made a funny sound in the back of his throat before answering. "Obviously Naruto didn't realize she had to do that."

The wood of the desk cracked further as Tsunade slammed her hands down and glared harshly at the white haired man. "You let her burn the body? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea what that could do to her psyche?"

Jiraiya didn't even flinch as he stared Tsunade right back in the eye. "She wanted to do it and the girl's got too much of her mother in her to follow orders. She'll be fine, just let her cool off in Myoboku. You're trying to keep her that same little girl she was when she left, but she's not thirteen anymore. She's nearly nineteen-years-old and an independent woman. She made this decision and I stick by her on it."

Tsunade sat back in her chair and rubbed her temples slowly. "I need a drink."

Kakashi sighed deeply and secretly wished for his own drink, several bottles of the strongest alcohol in Konoha if at all possible. "I'll tell Sakura tomorrow, there's no sense in waking her up now to shred her dreams. It'll give her one more night to dream about bringing Sasuke home."

"Are you sure Kakashi? I could probably break it to her with no problem tomorrow morning when she reports for her rounds at the hospital."

Kakashi shook his head as he stood up from his chair. "No, this is a Team Seven matter. I'll tell her, it's my duty as her ex-sensei."

With that Kakashi left the room, leaving behind the two Sennin. Jiraiya scowled at the spot where the younger jounin sat before cutting his eyes over to Tsunade. "Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to Sakumo. They both take honor and duty to an unrealistic level." He stopped and a faraway look entered his eyes as he thought back to a night many years before. "Let's just hope we don't find him gutted on the tatami mats."

"Jiraiya, don't, not right now."

Jiraiya whirled around and met honey brown eyes with an intense glare. "Tsunade, promise me you'll watch out for the kid."

"He's hardly a kid, Jiraiya, and besides, shouldn't you be doing that? Weren't you his legal guardian?"

Jiraiya looked away before bringing up a hand to run through his bangs in frustration. "That's not the issue here. The issue is that I'm trying to make sure Kakashi is okay. Surely you remember Sensei's frustration over the brat after Minato died."

"I do, but why care so much Jiraiya? Because of some promise you made Sakumo and Nozomi all those years ago?"

"No, because of Naruto. It would kill her if something happened to him."

Tsunade grinned slightly. "Are we dealing with the Hatake curse here?"

The 'Hatake curse' was a term coined by Hatake Sakumo when he was young and just beginning to try his hand at dating. At the time, the thirteen-year-old slowly began to realize that none of the girls around his age took any interest in him. The only girls that did pay him any attention were either too old, ranging around the twenty-three-year mark because everyone over twenty-three thought he was 'adorable,' or too young. So instead of getting accused of being a predator and a victim, the teen joked about his predicament and just kind of waited for the right time.

Sad thing is he didn't get his first date until he was twenty and that's when he met his future wife, Nozomi. Coincidentally his wife ended up being twelve years older than him. The woman used to joke about how she used to pinch his cheeks and tell him how adorable he was; now she had a whole other cheek she could pinch.

Jiraiya returned her grin. "Perhaps, but I doubt Kakashi realizes Naruto likes him. She hides it so well and the kid's ability to read intimate emotions is on par with a rock's. For such an elite shinobi he wouldn't know about Naruto's crush unless someone pointed it out and even then Naruto would probably have to tell him herself."

"Nozomi was like that too. Remember, Sakumo finally had to just kiss her for the woman to realize he liked her."

Jiraiya chuckled before looking over to the window to watch the morning's first rays peek over the top of the village gates. Already he could see shinobi gearing up for missions and beginning their morning training routines. It was peaceful, but utterly boring. "I'm heading back to Myoboku today. I'll send Naruto along shortly and then we can see about getting grandbabies."

Even though Tsunade was sure telling the Council about the Uchiha's death was going to give her a major headache later, she smiled. Yes, Konoha had permanently lost a dojutsu, but the future seemed so much brighter now. Team Seven no longer had Sasuke hanging over their heads and would now be able to reach their fullest potentials. It was a harsh reality, but sometimes that's what it took to make legends.

Now all she had to worry about was the backlash after she made her announcement to the villagers, but Tsunade really didn't think she would have to worry about the handful of Sasuke supporters. Most of the shinobi and civilians realized how selfish and traitorous the Uchiha was and those that didn't could go screw themselves.

* * *

Kakashi waited until late the next afternoon before asking Sakura to meet with him at her apartment. He honestly had never been to the girl's new apartment, but he figured it would be easier to break the news of Sasuke's death to her in her own domain. Somewhere she would feel the most comfortable. He even went as far as to purchase the strongest sake in all of Konoha in the hopes that she would drink herself into slumber after hearing the news. He knew Sakura didn't love Sasuke like she used to, but the affection was still there. He simply wanted to make sure the girl didn't do anything drastic.

"Kakashi-sensei? You're not as late as I expected you to be."

Kakashi sheepishly grinned beneath his mask as Sakura led him into the sitting room and offered him a cup of warm tea. He declined before motioning for her to sit beside him. He wasn't very good at emotions. Hell, he didn't even know if his feelings constituted as actual emotions or just faux-emotions that he picked up while doing undercover missions over the years. Most people didn't know it, but Hatake Kakashi was a damn good actor.

He took a moment to gather his words and simply watched the girl beside him sip her cup of tea. Kakashi mentally chided himself for calling her a girl when the kunoichi beside him was obviously a woman. He thought back to the annoying twelve-year-old girl she used to be and shuddered slightly. He liked the new Sakura, the mature, strong, and confident Sakura. He was proud of her. Pride was probably the only real emotion Kakashi claimed. Well, that and rage, and maybe lust, but that was an emotion for another time and place.

Sakura placed her cup of tea on the tray in front of her and turned to fully face Kakashi. She had grown a lot in the past few years. Her pink hair was still chopped short, but it fell a little longer than originally. It now rested against her shoulders instead of above them. Those green eyes were still bright with intelligence and life, but now her face took a more angular shape giving her a more mature look without the baby fat from her childhood. Even her body had grown into a more womanly figure. Kakashi couldn't help but estimate her cup size to be about a strong 34 B. He shook those thoughts away and trained his eyes onto the pale lavender wallpaper on her walls. He came here with a mission and he intended to see it through.

Kakashi reached down beside his feet and picked up the bottle of sake. "Sake?"

Sakura's lips twitched into a smile as she hurriedly got up to grab two sake glasses from the kitchen. By the time she returned, Kakashi was more than ready to tell her about Sasuke.

"What is this about, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Since when did little Sakura get so good at reading me?"

Sakura's forehead scrunched together in frustration as she growled and downed the first cup of sake. "I'm far from little, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's nose scrunched up at the 'sensei' part of his name. It made him feel old and really he wasn't the girl's sensei now. She was a capable tokubetsu jounin and didn't have to address him as 'sensei.'

"Please Sakura, drop the 'sensei' part. I'm not your sensei any longer."

Sakura smiled gently and rolled her eyes. "Fine, _Kakashi_, tell me, what's going on?"

Kakashi poured her another cup of sake and leaned back against the dark brown couch. "Jiraiya returned to Konoha today without Naruto."

"Again? What's taking her training so long? There's no telling where Sasuke-kun is now because we haven't even looked for him in nearly six years."

Only years as a shinobi kept Kakashi from flinching at the name 'Sasuke.' He closed his eyes and quickly downed his own cup of sake while Sakura was staring at her picture of Team Seven on the windowsill across the room. "He did bring something back."

"What? Another one of his perverted books?"

"No, he brought back Uchiha Sasuke's head. I'm sorry Sakura, but Sasuke's dead."

The sake cup in Sakura's hand fell to the ground and shattered as she absorbed Kakashi's words. Tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill over as she turned back to her ex-sensei. "Dead? No, he can't be dead."

Kakashi's flight senses were going off in his mind as he watched Sakura try to maintain some control over her tears. He couldn't stand it when a woman cried, mostly because he just didn't know how to handle them. Throwing caution to the wind, Kakashi reached out and awkwardly patted Sakura's back in what he hoped was a comforting fashion. "I saw the head myself. He's gone Sakura. He attacked Naruto and Naruto fought back."

Sakura's eyes snapped up quickly. "Is Naruto okay?"

Kakashi nodded his head slowly before reaching over and handing his filled sake glass to her. "Naruto's fine, but she's taking some time to gather her thoughts before coming back."

Sakura took the glass and downed it quickly; her cheeks were already becoming redder with each passing second. Kakashi knew it wouldn't be long before the kunoichi before him would need a bed to pass out in. Sakura exhaled a shuddering breath before throwing the sake glass against the floor. It shattered against the wooden floor, joining the other shards glittering in the fading sun. She snatched the sake bottle from Kakashi's hand and tilted it back before handing it to Kakashi for his own drink. He almost declined, but the look on Sakura's face was the same one he had seen on many shinobi before her. It was begging him to not leave her alone, begging him to drink with her and give her a little stability.

Sitting there, they drank the entire bottle of Konoha's finest and strongest sake before eventually moving on to the cheap imported stuff Sakura kept in her kitchen cabinet for Tsunade. The more they drank, the more they talked about Sasuke and Naruto. Little memories began bubbling up from long forgotten days when the world seemed so much nicer, back before Sasuke betrayed them all. Eventually words started blurring together and Kakashi began to chide himself for allowing them to drink so much. Of course, lowered senses and morals turned to sly fingers massaging tense muscles and giddy giggles erupting from pink lips that suddenly looked a whole lot more kissable than they did five bottles of sake ago.

Sakura was the one that made the first move. She grasped Kakashi by the hair and smashed her lips against his masked ones. Kakashi let her kiss him as he moved his hands to worm underneath her shirt and palm her breast. Even in the haze of alcohol he mentally congratulated himself for guessing her cup size correctly.

"Please."

Kakashi nodded against her lips and didn't waste any time stripping both of their bodies and covering Sakura with his own. They soon lost themselves in each other and allowed the alcohol coursing through their bodies make the decisions. With caution thrown to the wind, Kakashi chanted her name as he leaned in and kissed her pink lips and wiped away the salty, traitorous tears off of her cheeks. Somewhere along the way Sakura came down from her giddy high and the force of Sasuke's death hit her triple fold. She didn't even realize she was crying until Kakashi wiped them away with his thumbs.

Kakashi leaned in and nipped her neck just so through his mask as his vision threatened to blur. The level of alcohol in his system wasn't healthy for a shinobi, especially considering it was lowering all of his inhibitions and making him do and say things that he knew he would regret when he finally sobered up. He didn't care, though. The warm and willing body beneath him was enough to tear his thoughts away from his carelessness.

In the haze of his alcohol befuddled mind, Kakashi couldn't help but notice how pretty those pink locks looked spread out around her head as she laid beneath him. Even if the girl was crying hysterically with every breath, all Kakashi could think of was the feel of her against his skin. He dove back in and sighed her name into the still room.

"_Sakura_."

The equally inebriated girl beneath him clutched at his shoulders and moaned loudly. Even with the amount she drank, Sakura was still sober enough to recognize exactly who she was sharing a night with. He wasn't Sasuke, but he was the closest thing she would ever get now.

"_Kakashi_."

* * *

*whistles* So how'd it go? Considering I'm not a huge fan of Sakura, I think I did okay with her in this chapter. Really surprised myself because I was worried that I would do something horrible to her character.

Moving on from that. I know a part of me believes that Kakashi wouldn't have slept with Sakura drunk, but another part believes he is male and men have a tendency to think not with their brains. I see it as being a plausible outcome to the situation they were in and who knows, maybe this is all for the best anyway. I feel so evil, but not as evil as I feel for the next few chapters. Mwuhahahaha!

Until next time,

'Rayne


	2. Goodbye To A Dream

Thanks everyone for the lovely reviews and alerts!

I really don't have much to say about this chapter, except that there's a lot of surprises in here. A lot. A lot of things happen and it's going to be good. Okay!

Happy Readings.

* * *

Kakashi woke up the next morning with a pounding headache and the sickly taste of cheap sake on his tongue. Even the mask around his face felt too tight. He only managed to open his eye for a few seconds before wincing and shutting it as the offensive light burned into his cornea. He groaned softly and rolled onto his stomach to bury his face into his pillow that suddenly smelled like roses. Even in the post-drunken haze, Kakashi quickly realized he wasn't in his own room.

Slowly the silver haired man opened his eye and looked around him. The first thing he saw that caused his already churning stomach to twist tighter was the pink hair of his onetime student.

Suddenly Kakashi felt very sick.

His stomach was barely holding itself together and the knowledge that he actually had sex with Sakura wasn't helping it either. It wasn't that the pink haired woman beside him was ugly, no she was beautiful, but she was so vulnerable and needy after hearing of Sasuke's death that he couldn't believe he let himself take advantage of that. Was his libido really that uncontrollable?

Kakashi winced again as he slowly sat up and cradled his throbbing head in his hands. Regret and disgust sunk deep into his heart as he looked at the unconscious woman beside him, not directed at her, but at himself. He shouldn't have gotten drunk with her or none of this would have happened. Kakashi just hoped she wouldn't regret this later.

Kakashi's stomach made itself known again as the queasy feeling settled into his abdomen. The pungent smell of sex and sweat that concentrated in the small room wasn't helping his state at all. This was one of those times he cursed his advanced sense of smell as every scent was amplified.

The room tilted suddenly as Kakashi carefully moved around on the bed, lest he wake up his slumbering bed partner. He barely managed to swallow down the bile that was slowly churning up his esophagus. The acidic combination of old alcohol and greasy take-out food burned inside the shinobi's throat as he quickly lurched from the bed and stumbled blindly down the hall towards a door he hoped was the bathroom.

Sitting on the white tiled floor of the small bathroom, Kakashi clutched at the remaining strands of his resolve. He couldn't stay until Sakura woke up. He couldn't face her because he blamed himself. As soon as he was strong enough, he was going to leave and forget about everything that transpired between them. A small part of him voiced in a slightly smug tone that Naruto was going to kill him for turning one of her friends into a one-night stand. The thought made the famed Copy Ninja want to heave into the nearest container and hide from the world for the rest of the day.

* * *

"Naruto, it's been an entire month. When are you going back to Konoha?"

Naruto shrugged without looking at Fukasaku. "I'm meditating right now Fukasaku."

"Stubborn girl! You're worse than Jiraiya!"

Naruto waited until the elderly toad hopped away before chuckling and going back to her previous task, rereading the newest installment of the Icha Icha series. Normally Naruto wouldn't be caught dead with one of the Sennin's perverted stories, but this book was the one she ghostwrote and she wanted to make sure it was perfect before she gave it to Kakashi.

She was proud of her book, cleverly titled Icha Icha Lessons, because it was definitely her own piece of work. It was different from the first two novels, but with a lot of similar elements. Her book had a few more adventurous elements in it than the original two and had a slightly more complicated plot, but overall it correlated with the mature theme running through all three books. Naruto also shamelessly put a little bit of her 'admiration' of Kakashi in the book as she wrote.

The story revolves around a young samurai that leaves his father's house in search of the emperor's missing daughter. Along the way the samurai meets up with a tomboyish young girl that he agrees to train as long as the girl remains under the guise of a boy. The girl agrees and as the samurai teaches her to wield the blades and live by the samurai code she slowly starts to fall in love with him. In the end it turns out that the tomboyish girl was actually the emperor's daughter, but by this time the samurai has fallen in love with the girl and can't bear to part with her. Together they fake the young girl's death and forever live out the rest of their days away from the eyes of the public.

In a way, she wrote this book for Kakashi and hoped to the gods above the man never figured out the underlying connection between the main characters and her own feelings. She would never live down the embarrassment.

Icha Icha Lessons would be the third book in the series and Jiraiya was already in the final stages of editing Icha Icha Tactics, so this was going to be a good year for fans of the series. Naruto just hoped no one noticed the differences between the writing styles. She tried her hardest to copy Jiraiya's style, but sometimes her own style pushed through and devoured Jiraiya's. Overall she was damn proud of her work and hoped that one day she could tell Kakashi her real feelings instead of writing them into a book.

"Gaki, Fukasaku said you were giving him a hard time."

Naruto cut her eyes over and discreetly tried hiding the book in her hands underneath her so Jiraiya wouldn't catch her rereading it. He already teased her enough about Kakashi and she really didn't think she could handle anymore of his teasing.

"I see that book."

Damn, Naruto thought, he was good.

"I'm just making sure it's perfect."

Jiraiya leered at her mischievously as he sat down beside her. "Your Kakashi-sensei won't connect the dots in your book unless you point it out to him."

Naruto sighed and nervously rubbed her hands together, something uncharacteristic for her. Even during her sage training, Naruto never felt as nervous and out of place as she did whenever she thought about Kakashi. The very thought of him made her stomach do these little twisting motions and made her heart rate increase.

"What if he does and then completely turns me down?"

Jiraiya looked solemn for a moment as he looked out over the land of the toads before turning to look back at her. "Your father asked me the same thing whenever he was working up the courage to ask your mother out."

Naruto swallowed thickly and chewed over what Jiraiya said in her mind. She knew who her parents were. Jiraiya told her shortly before she was allowed to train with the toads, but he didn't really share stories about them with her. Hearing this little bit of information, even if it was insignificant, made her feel closer to them.

"What did you tell him?"

A soft smile Naruto didn't know Jiraiya possessed formed on his face. "I told him to go for it. You can't live your life by 'what ifs' and if you get turned down then try again. If it's meant to be, then it's meant to be." The corners of Naruto's mouth twitched up into a smile as Jiraiya nodded his head once and held out his hand to her. "So what is your decision? Are we going to go back to Konoha so you can bag your Hatake or are we going to sit here and mope?"

Naruto chuckled and stood up. "Let's finish the final edit of your book and then we can return to Konoha."

Jiraiya grinned and teased Naruto mercilessly as they walked into the area Naruto was using as campsite. "Oh, you must want Kakashi all hot and bothered if you're trying to get two books for him. I never thought my pervertedness would rub off on you Naru-chan! I'm so proud!"

"Shut-up you pervert!"

* * *

"Kakashi-senpai? Tsunade-sama called everyone together for an announcement."

Kakashi turned away from the cenotaph to look at the purple haired female ANBU with a bored eye. "I already know what she's announcing so I see no need to be there. She won't miss me anyway."

Uzuki Yugao frowned behind her mask and noticed Kakashi was staring directly at Uchiha Obito's name. "Do you blame yourself? For Sasuke's decision?"

Kakashi lowered his eye to the ground, "I did everything I could. Sasuke made the decision he did and I don't feel the need to take that blame."

"Will they add his name to the cenotaph?"

Kakashi looked at her once more, but this time there was a small fire churning in that charcoal orb. "You know the answer already, so why ask? He was a traitor to Konoha, adding him here would be a slap in the face to every single shinobi that sacrificed their lives for this village. I would fight against it even if some of Sasuke's supporters wanted it done. Speaking of which, why aren't you patrolling the crowd?"

"Will the Uchiha's death really cause that much commotion?"

Kakashi chuckled slightly. "There are still some supporters in the crowd. Some that still see Sasuke as an orphaned prince, so there will be some that won't be happy with Tsunade's announcement."

Yugao nodded. "I'll take my leave then. Goodbye, sempai."

Yugao approached the crowd just in time to hear Tsunade announce Sasuke's death. Surprisingly enough, the crowd didn't break out into an anthem for the fallen Uchiha. In fact, some were celebrating. Finally, the villagers realized the cruelty and darkness that resided in the deceased Uchiha's heart. Yugao couldn't help but notice the sun seemed a little bit brighter after the announcement was made.

* * *

Sakura was nervous and a nervous Sakura made for a very bad medic.

The pink haired kunoichi had a very good reason to be nervous. She was exactly two weeks late. The lack of a period coupled with the fact that she woke up bright and early this morning vomiting left a bad taste in Sakura's mouth. With her medical background she knew exactly what was wrong too. She, nineteen-year-old Haruno Sakura, was pregnant with Hatake Kakashi's child.

The kunoichi wanted to kick herself for being so stupid as to let a drunken romp lead to this. She should have asked about protection or at least remembered to take her birth control. Hell, she could have even used some of her medical jutsu to stop herself from ovulating, but no, she was drunk and just let Kakashi fuck her without thinking about the consequences.

Now all Sakura could think of was trying to raise Kakashi's illegitimate child while continuing her training. It was giving her a headache.

"Sakura! You missed the announcement. Tsunade just announced Sasuke's death." Ino stopped talking and took in her friend's bloodshot eyes. It looked like Sakura had been crying. "Hey, are you okay? Is this about Sasuke? I thought you were over him."

Sakura turned and looked at her blonde friend. She shook her head and waved Ino forward. "If I tell you something can you keep it a secret?"

Ino nodded her head as she reached behind her to close the door of Sakura's mini-office. "Is something wrong?"

Tears unwillingly welled up in Sakura's eyes. "I made a mistake Ino. I got drunk and slept with Kakashi and now I think I'm pregnant."

Ino's icy blue eyes widened as she closed the gap between the two of them and grabbed Sakura's hands in hers. "Pregnant? With Kakashi-sensei's child? Have you taken the test yet?"

Sakura shook her head as the tears began running down her cheeks. "I can't go get a test Ino! If I get one from the hospital then it'll be all over Konoha before nightfall. Everyone here knows me and would automatically start spreading rumors."

"There are always those at home pregnancy tests."

Again Sakura shook her head. "My dad was a merchant when he was alive. All of the shop owners know me by sight because I used to go with him when he bartered. I could use a henge, but most stores have henge detectors so I'll still be found out. I can't ask anyone else to go for me because you're the only friend I trust with this information and if you go get one then it would get back to your dad. I can't let those gossipers start rumors about you too."

Ino rubbed a hand across her eyes as she sighed. "What if you go and run the test yourself?"

"I don't have the clearance to do that and only Tsunade can grant me clearance." Sakura ran a hand through her hair and sighed. "On top of that, I really don't want mine or Kakashi's reputation compromised so I obviously can't go to Shishou. She would ask too many questions and I know I won't be able to lie to her."

Ino released Sakura's hands and pulled her friend into a hug. "It's going to be okay. Have you told Kakashi yet?"

Sakura shook her head as she pulled away from Ino. "I was hoping this was all a false alarm, but it's the second week without my cycle and I woke up sick this morning. Then I've been really tired lately and not to mention my hormones are all out of whack."

Ino blushed slightly before clearing her throat to ask the embarrassing question. "When did you and Kakashi have sex?"

Sakura's cheeks inflamed as well as she looked away from her friend's eyes. "Six weeks ago."

"Just about a month and a half ago. Morning sickness usually starts in the fifth to sixth week right?"

Sakura nodded and wrapped her arms around her middle. "What if Kakashi doesn't acknowledge the child as his?"

Ino actually laughed which caused Sakura's eye to snap up in anger. "Hatake Kakashi denying his child? It would go against everything he believes in. Dad is always going on and on about Kakashi's sense of duty and honor. Go talk to him and I bet you'll find him a whole lot more accepting than you realize."

The pink haired girl clutched the material of her medic uniform in her fists before squaring her jaw and nodding in agreement. "I'm going to tell him right now."

Ino grinned at her friend. "Good luck and regardless of what happens, I'll help you through this."

Sakura grinned and walked out the door leaving Ino to sit in the office and think about her friend's predicament. Honestly, she knew Kakashi wouldn't deny the child as being his. He had too much honor to do that, but she feared what he would do about it. A part of her feared Kakashi would agree to marry Sakura to save the girl's reputation and to acquire a true heir for the Hatake clan.

The only problem with that solution was that Ino knew those two wouldn't work well together. She clearly remembered her father talking to her about suitors when she came of age and Kakashi was one of the ones he told her to stay away from if she wanted happiness. It wasn't that Kakashi was abusive or neglectful, but he was so withdrawn from his emotions that he wouldn't know how to handle a girl like Sakura or Ino. Kakashi had too many secrets and too little trust in other people to let them know his secrets.

Ino remembered her father blushing before saying that Kakashi would most likely make an excellent lover for whoever he chose, but sex only does so much for the relationship. There has to be an open and honest line of communication. Kakashi was too used to being alone to even know how to carry on that open line of communication. He would care for his lovers in his own way, but he would never fully love them. He was too much of a shinobi to even attempt to understand love. Inoichi both praised and condemned Kakashi's shinobi talents because of his inability to love.

He said the man could potentially learn to love, but that it would take patience most women didn't possess and an unlimited amount of determination to break apart the cold persona of Hatake Kakashi. All of those elements were things Sakura lacked in abundance. She was determined, but she had a bad habit of quitting after she realized she was losing. Not necessarily a bad trait, but when dealing with Kakashi she wouldn't get far. Patience wasn't Sakura's strong point either. The pink haired girl would get angry before she even had time to think her actions through. Ino just didn't see Kakashi spilling all of his secrets because of Sakura's fists.

Ino sighed and walked around the room to stretch out her legs. She would rather Kakashi agree to pay child support than agree to marry her pink haired friend. That would settle a lot of Ino's fears, but it opened up a whole new can of worms regarding the village. It wasn't an unusual sight to see unmarried kunoichi mothers in the village, but since Sakura was the Hokage's apprentice she was looked at differently. On top of that, Sakura was also from a civilian family and more often than not civilian families were quick to denounce unmarried pregnant daughters.

Sakura's parents may have been dead, but her aunt and uncle were alive and would make Sakura's life Hell if they found out about the baby. Civilians were funny like that. Where shinobi families would welcome the child and take care of the mother, civilian families would disown the poor girl and baby because of some twisted sense of family honor. It didn't make sense to Ino and she didn't have the interest or patience to try and make sense of the matter.

Instead she sat back down and waited for Sakura to return.

* * *

"Yo Sakura, you wanted to see me?"

Sakura nodded and looked around the training ground to check for eavesdroppers. Kakashi watched her with a mild interest before reaching down to pick up his discarded kunai. After leaving the cenotaph, he needed to let out some of his frustration. He had been training whenever she found him and from the look on her face he realized he wouldn't be returning to his training any time soon.

"Yes. Do you remember what happened between us a few weeks back?"

Since Kakashi was squatting down to pick up his weapons, Sakura missed the widening of his visible eye and the small tremor that worked its way down his arms. Of course he remembered enough about the night to know they crossed a line they shouldn't have. Whenever he came to the next morning he immediately left out of shock of what he had done. He didn't even track Sakura down afterwards to apologize for getting her drunk and inadvertently having sex with her. Kakashi figured that wouldn't have endeared her to him because no girl wants to be told their sex partner regretted having sex with them. It's like telling a girl she's fat, or at least that's what he had always heard.

"Yes, I remember."

Sakura looked a little downcast at the tone of his blunt answer, but Kakashi just let it slide. "Oh, okay. You see…Umm….what I mean is that…I didn't…You didn't…."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the stuttering and mumbling girl in front of him. She was talking lower than she ever had before and to see the look of pure discomfort on her face was a shock to Kakashi. If anything, his onetime student had confidence and seeing her reverting back to her twelve-year-old self wasn't a good thing. He sighed and placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. The girl instantly looked up at him and gave him a weary smile.

"Take a deep breath and just say it."

Sakura nodded and closed her eyes. "I'm pregnant."

When she opened them again she half expected to not see him or to at least see his accusing, angry face. Instead, Kakashi was still in front of her with his hand tense on top of her shoulder. What little she could see of his face was unreadable, but she assumed that was better than him being outright angry. She could hear the slight hesitation in his voice the next time he spoke. "Are you sure?"

The pinked haired girl nodded again. "Almost positive. I've been throwing up lately and," she blushed hotly before going on, "I haven't had my cycle yet."

Kakashi suddenly grabbed both of her shoulders with his hands and forced her to look into his eyes. "Have your cycles always been on time?"

Sakura nodded, suddenly fearful of his forceful actions. "Yes, like clockwork. Always on the third week of the month."

Kakashi released the woman and took a few steps backwards. He paced slightly as he ran a hand through his hair and muttered a few explicit words underneath his breath. "Have you had a pregnancy test yet?"

Sakura looked back down at the ground and tried to ignore the tears welling up in her eyes. The way he was talking to her was almost like she was the one that made the mistake, not him. If she remembered correctly she wasn't the only one that was there when the baby inside of her was conceived.

"This isn't just my fault you know."

"Sakura, I never said it was your fault, but I'm trying to figure out our options right now. Bear with me for now; you've thrown me for a loop. Now, have you gotten a test done?"

Kakashi waited for Sakura's answer with a little bit of impatience running through his veins. It wasn't that he blamed her. No, he blamed himself for forgetting the damn condom, but he just couldn't deal with all of this emotional stuff at the same time. He felt like he was being caged in and the animal in him didn't like it. He didn't mean to sound snappish or condescending, but whenever he felt backed into a corner he tended to lash out.

"No, I haven't."

"I'm glad you didn't. It makes my decision all the easier."

Sakura resisted the urge to whimper as she hugged herself. "Do you want me to get rid of it? I know a couple of herbs that would take care of a fetus this young."

Kakashi snarled slightly and shook his head. "There's no honor in killing a child because of our mistake. No, you'll carry the child to term and we'll raise it."

Sakura blinked in surprise before tilting her head at the silver haired man. "What do you mean?"

"We're going to get married and try to pass the child off as a blessing from our first night of marriage. No one will ever know it was conceived out of wedlock and the legitimacy of our heir won't be compromised by the council. Plus, your aunt and uncle would have no reason to call you out on it."

Sakura stared at Kakashi in disbelief. The man was literally playing their situation off as if he was talking about the weather. The thought of such a necessary marriage didn't bother him and strangely that gave Sakura comfort. If Kakashi was so sure everything would work out, then maybe everything would work out. She knew they didn't love each other, but perhaps they could eventually learn to love each other. She believed she could change the man in front of her for the better and mold him into the loving husband she desired. Sakura smiled. Yes, they could make this work.

"You want to marry me?"

Kakashi nodded, but mentally he was asking the girl if he had a choice in the matter. He got her pregnant and he would care for her and the child. So what if he wouldn't get the same whirlwind romance as the main characters in his Icha Icha books, at least he had some level of stability. As bad as the situation was, it also carried a few good things. The council would finally be off his case about settling down and producing heirs. Plus Sakura was attractive and intelligent so he wouldn't be completely miserable sharing his life with her. He just didn't know how much she expected him to change because he was stubbornly set in his ways. So as long as Sakura tried to understand him and not change him then they would get along just fine.

"I'll go talk to Tsunade later and then tomorrow we'll sign the marriage papers."

* * *

Sakura raced back to the hospital and burst into her office where Ino was still waiting for her.

"Ino! He accepted the baby!"

Ino grinned and hugged Sakura tightly. "I knew he would. What did he say?"

"He wants to marry me! Isn't that great? For years I thought I'd be marrying Uchiha Sasuke and never dreamed that I'd marry Hatake Kakashi!"

Ino barely managed to keep the now hollow smile on her face. The marriage wasn't going to work; she could already feel it. They were too different and too selfish. Even with a child to share between them, she doubted her friend would ever truly be happy with her life. A part of her even wondered if Sakura accepted Kakashi's proposal so easily because he reminded her of Sasuke. Ino deeply regretted wasting her childhood panting after Sasuke like some bitch in heat. After Sasuke left the Leaf, Ino slowly began to see the boy for the monster he was and suddenly found herself asking what she ever saw in the Uchiha. He never showed any interest in her, so why should she starve not only her body, but also her soul for him? Instead of calling out all of her fears, Ino grinned and lied.

"You're going to so happy together."

* * *

Tsunade stared at the man in front of her in complete disbelief.

"You want me to draw up marriage papers for you and Haruno Sakura? Pink haired, twenty-year-old, tokubetsu jounin, and your past student, Haruno Sakura?"

"Is that a problem?"

Tsunade groaned. Why was it that her shinobi insisted on driving her to drink? Did they want to see her go crazy?

"Kakashi, you've never shown any interest in Sakura. Hell, you've never shown any interest in dating or marriage at all. In fact, you've got the intimacy level of a dead fish. The only time I've ever seen you hug someone was because Naruto tackled you into one. Knowing all of that, how do you expect me to believe that you've suddenly fallen completely in love with Haruno Sakura?"

"What can I say? Perhaps the love bug bit me a little later than most."

Her honey eyes narrowed at the silver haired man in front of her. "You're an asshole, but one of my best shinobi. I want the truth Hatake and I want it now."

Kakashi sighed. "I got Sakura pregnant and now I'm marrying her to save face on both of our accounts."

Tsunade sat back in her chair and reached into her desk to take out her hidden bottle of sake. She didn't drink any of it, but the comforting feel of the cool porcelain against her skin settled the swirling thoughts inside of her head.

"Is she positive that she's pregnant?"

"She's a medic-nin and female, so I assume she knows what she's talking about."

"I'm not calling Sakura promiscuous because for all I know the girl was a virgin, but are you sure the child is yours?"

Kakashi didn't even have the decency to blush as he nodded. "She wasn't a virgin. She drunkenly told me that she lost her virginity to Rock Lee three years ago and after their relationship fell apart she hadn't taken another lover." He stopped and mentally ticked off the number of times they coupled, or at least the ones he could remember. His memory got sort of hazy between Sakura's couch and her bed. "We also did it at least three times before we passed out. I also wasn't wearing protection and Sakura said she forgot to take her pill so there was plenty of opportunity for pregnancy. I'm inclined to believe her word because so far everything adds up."

"Why not just support Sakura financially?"

Kakashi's single eye narrowed at the question. "Surely you know that Sakura comes from a civilian family. They wouldn't understand that her condition is acceptable in the shinobi world and would automatically end up writing her off as nothing more than a common whore. She would lose her apartment and any monetary assistance from them. Which means she would end up living with me anyway, so why not simplify everything and just marry her? At least this way we could raise the child together."

Tsunade sat the sake bottle down on her desk and pulled out a few folders containing several copies of Konoha's marriage certificate. As she watched Kakashi look over the paper and promise to bring Sakura back later so they could sign together, her heart ached for a certain blue-eyed blonde. Poor Naruto, the man she loved was marrying another woman. Tsunade didn't know how this union between Sakura and Kakashi would work out, but she didn't see it ending well for Naruto. It wasn't fair that the girl who gave so much wasn't able to get the one thing she wanted.

"Shizune, call Sakura to my office."

* * *

Sakura was still with Ino when Shizune entered her office and told her Tsunade requested her presence. The pink haired woman didn't waste any time and raced to the Hokage Tower to visit with her master.

"Sakura, what have you gotten yourself into?"

Sakura gulped before looking over at the blonde haired woman behind her desk.

"Shishou, I was drunk and it just happened. I hope you're not disappointed."

A look passed over Tsunade's eyes, one that Sakura didn't exactly understand. It looked almost like pity and regret, but the pink haired girl wasn't sure.

"I'm not disappointed, but I want you to seriously reconsider marrying Kakashi."

Emerald eyes widened in shock. "Tsunade-sama? I can't even think about not marrying Kakashi in my condition. My family would never accept me or the baby. Plus, all pregnant kunoichi are taken off of active duty rosters, how would I make money?"

"There are other options, Sakura, like child support. Kakashi could easily support you and the child with his income. No one on the shinobi side would even bat an eye."

Sakura's temper raised just a little bit as she listened to Tsunade. She just didn't understand why her teacher didn't want her to marry Kakashi. "There's no other option for me, Tsunade-sama. I have to marry Kakashi. I can't do this alone."

Tsunade rubbed a hand across her eyes as she watched the young woman in front of her. "Fine, but I'm warning you Sakura, Kakashi is a difficult person to get along with. He's downright stubborn and set in his ways, don't expect for him to change within the first few weeks."

"I understand, Shishou."

Mentally Tsunade disagreed with Sakura. The girl didn't understand what she was getting herself into and all Tsunade could think about was a blonde haired girl that was going to be so disappointed whenever she returned to Konoha.

"Before you go, Sakura, I'm going to do a pregnancy test under an assumed name, just to be safe."

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

All that happened kind of fast didn't it? I really don't want to be mean to Sakura, but right now I have to. Don't worry, she'll get some niceness coming up. I do feel bad for poor Naruto though, poor girl just can't get a break can she?

Anyway, if you've got the time drop a review and tell me how ya liked it. This is going to be a rather short story and is going to tie up loose ends rather quickly.

Until Next Time,

'Rayne


	3. Goodbye To A Child

I'm so glad this little plot bunny is getting such great attention. I'm dealing with a cliche here, but don't worry, there will be no 'clan law' type of situation that will allow Kakashi to marry multple wives. Everything will make sense in the end. I promise.

Now, onto the next chapter! Happy Readings!

**Disclaimer: I don't own. **

* * *

Sakura stared in shock at the dark stain on her light pink sheets. During the night, after Kakashi informed her they would sign the marriage papers the next day at noon, Sakura started her period.

Our little medic never was pregnant.

The whole time what she thought was pregnancy was actually side effects from the new vaccine she was given a little over three weeks ago. The nausea, interruption of menstrual cycles, fatigue and hormonal imbalance were all classic side effects from the vaccine. The possibility of side effects from the vaccine was just something Sakura didn't think of whenever she was trying to figure out what was wrong with her. Her mind automatically went to the most obvious because everything fit so well.

With her womb being devoid of Kakashi's child, the pinked haired woman had a decision to make because technically she had no hold over Kakashi. He was marrying her strictly for the baby, but Sakura was already used to the idea of being Hatake Sakura. She spent the entire night naming their future children and deciding how she was going to rearrange his apartment for her stuff.

You see, Sakura wasn't a simpleminded woman, but she was a single-minded woman. Once she got something into her head it usually took a lot to get it out again and right now Sakura's mind frame was telling her that she was Kakashi's fiancé, child or no child. He had already gotten the documents ready and that was as good as signing them in Sakura's book.

So instead of going to Kakashi and calling off the marriage, Sakura went to Ino. Yamanaka Ino was Sakura's first friend and really the woman's only confidant. The blonde haired shinobi knew secrets about Sakura that no one else did, just like Sakura knew all of Ino's secrets. Like how Ino was dating a certain lovable Academy teacher with a very recognizable scar across his nose.

Sakura didn't know exactly when it happened, but sometime last year after Ino's stint teaching the psychology course at the Academy, she and Iruka bonded on a more personal level. Iruka was Ino's first serious boyfriend and they both guarded their relationship from the others around them. It was perhaps the biggest secret nobody knew in all of Konoha. Not because of the ten year age difference, but because Iruka was slightly terrified of Inoichi. He respected the man, but knew exactly what would happen to him if he upset Ino. Sakura could clearly remember Ino giggling as she swatted his arm and telling him that her dad wouldn't do anything or her mother would bring fire and brimstone down upon him. Iruka didn't seem to be comforted, but laughed it off anyway.

Now Ino would know her biggest secret and she hoped her friend was loyal enough to keep her big mouth shut about her predicament.

Sakura found Ino at the flower shop making an intricate bouquet. Secretly the pink haired woman loved watching Ino make bouquets because the woman got so into it that Sakura couldn't help but be amazed at the effort and life she put into her creations. Flower arranging was a work of art for Ino and no one knew that better than Sakura. The bouquet Ino was working on was lovely. In the center of the bouquet was a single magenta zinnia, surrounded by white daisies. Scattered throughout the daisies were several smaller pink peonies and the final touches were around the edges were clusters of white stephanotis wrapped around the edges. The explosion of colors against the pure white was beautiful as the creation erupted from a squared crystal vase. Sakura grinned as she began recalling the language of flowers.

Zinnia, especially the magenta ones, meant lasting affection. Daisies were a little harder to interpret because they could mean multiple things. They could mean purity, loyal love and I'll never tell. Sakura liked the last meaning because it fit her situation so well at that moment. The peonies universally symbolized a happy life and were almost always used in marriage bouquets. The final clusters of stephanotis were what really told Sakura this was a marriage bouquet and not just a regular one. Stephanotis symbolized a happy marriage.

"Sakura? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready for your marriage license signing?"

Sakura nodded and walked over to lean against the counter. "We need to talk."

"Okay, I'm working on an order from your future husband by the way. He obviously understands that men are supposed to give their wives pretty flowers. Of course, the poor man just asked me to make something that you would like. He obviously has no experience in picking out flowers."

A part of Sakura felt guilty at those words, but she pushed those feelings down and gushed over the thoughtfulness of her husband-to-be and the creativity of her best friend. The only problem with her gushing was that it felt half-hearted and she knew Ino could tell.

"Sakura? Is the morning sickness bothering you this morning?"

The other girl looked down at the floor and shook her head. It was now or never. "Are we alone Ino?"

"Of course. Dad's out with his friends and Mom's in Kusagakure overseeing the newest flower shipment. I've got the shop all to myself today and tomorrow."

Sakura looked around before quickly jogging over and locking the front door of the flower shop. She also flipped over the open sign.

"Ino, I started this morning."

Ino almost dropped the flowers in her hands as she turned to stare at Sakura in shock. She didn't even try to hide the relieved grin on her face as she gently placed the flowers down and ran over to hug Sakura. "This means you're not pregnant! This is good!"

Sakura pushed Ino away and looked at her in confusion. "This isn't good, not at all. What about my marriage to Kakashi in two hours?"

Ino put her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly. "You're going to call it off, right?"

"No!"

The blonde haired kunoichi blinked at her friend. "No? Sakura, you can't be serious? Your marriage happened because he thought he knocked you up and apparently he didn't, so why go through with the marriage?"

"I'm already used to the idea of being Hatake Sakura. There's no point in calling off everything when I can happily wait before telling Kakashi about the false alarm."

Ino furiously shook her head. "Life doesn't work like that, Sakura! So what if you've gotten used to the idea? Your marriage to Kakashi is doomed to end. You are both too different for the marriage to work. I thought that it might work with the baby, but since there's no baby I know it's not going to work. This is deception, Sakura, and betrayal of his trust."

Sakura snappishly pushed her hair behind her ears and glared at the woman in front of her. "I'll get pregnant before he realizes I'm not. The fetus doesn't have a distinct chakra signal separate from their mother until a few weeks before birth so he won't be able to tell until then. I have everything taken care of."

"It's still lying, Sakura! Kakashi doesn't deserve that and you don't either! You'll never be happy, Sakura. You're going into this marriage thinking he'll be all affectionate and open, but that man is an elite shinobi that doesn't drop his persona at home. You realize that means he's always going to be the aloof person you see every day. Please Sakura, I'm begging you, call off the marriage."

Sakura shook her head. "No."

Ino stood up straight and walked behind the counter to glare at the woman. "Then get the Hell out of my shop and don't come back. I don't condone this and I refuse to be acknowledged as your acquaintance. Good day, Haruno-san."

Sakura snarled and unlocked the door before stomping out and slamming it behind her. Ino shook her head in disbelief as she walked over and picked up a single flower from the rows of flowers along the wall. A beautiful purple snapdragon rested in her hands as she went back over to the wedding bouquet and hid it amongst the white daisies and stephanotis. In the language of flowers, snapdragons were a bad omen and all kunoichi knew they symbolized deception. This was as close as Ino would ever get to telling Sakura's secret because regardless of the path her friend was taking, she still loved her like a sister.

* * *

"You really shouldn't rush this, Kakashi."

"Thanks for the advice, Tsunade-sama, but my mind is made up."

"This isn't what your parents wanted for you."

"Well, they're not here right now are they?"

"Kakashi."

"Tsunade-sama."

"You're such an ass."

"You're a nosy old hag."

Kakashi and Tsunade stood in the middle of the Hokage's Office staring each other down. The more Tsunade tried talking the man out of the marriage, the more closed off and stubborn he got. It made the female Hokage wish his father were here so he could smack some sense and respect into the boy. A part of Tsunade did feel honored, though, because she was the only one he would get so snappish around. They were closer than most of the other shinobi knew.

At one time, back when they were younger and thought they were invincible, the three sennin and Sakumo were inseparable. Something that didn't change after Sakumo got married to Nozomi. If anything, they grew closer because Nozomi was an amazing cook and had a warm personality. Something they needed at a time when Orochimaru was slithering away from them. Hell, Tsunade and Jiraiya practically lived with the Hatakes while Nozomi was pregnant with Kakashi.

Tsunade was the one that held Kakashi before his parents did, she was the one that oversaw the birth and cleaned off the screaming babe as he shouted his anger to the new world. She remembered his little hands holding onto hers as he practiced his wobbly walking. At one time she was his 'oba,' but after Dan died she just couldn't stay around. The little baby she remembered cooing happily to his mommy and daddy was a lanky teenager the next time she saw him. Everything had changed and Tsunade knew at that moment that she wasn't getting that part of her life back.

Even now staring at the grown man in front of her, Tsunade knew she needed to stop the mistake he was making, but didn't know exactly how to do that. She couldn't tell him about Naruto's feelings. He wouldn't believe her and Naruto would never forgive her. In the end, Tsunade realized she couldn't do anything about it. Kakashi was set in his ways and Sakura was determined.

Naruto never stood a chance.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Kakashi grinned at his wife-to-be. "We're not even married yet and you're already picking up my bad habits."

Sakura blushed and nervously ran a hand through her hair. "Baka. Are we ready to get started?"

Tsunade sighed before rummaging around her desk to pull out the official marriage certificate. "Yes, all you do is sign on the dotted line and you're both officially married."

As she watched her two shinobi sign their names and officially become husband and wife, her heart sank a little deeper in her chest. Jiraiya was going to kill her for letting this happen.

She watched the two leave the room, looking more like strangers than newlyweds, and felt like such a fool for letting them actually carry through with the marriage. She only hoped it worked for the child's sake. That's when Tsunade remembered the pregnancy test that she forgot to run the night before. She would have Shizune run it later, but for now, she needed a stiff drink.

* * *

Sakura looked across the table at her husband. The word itself sent shivers up and down her spine. She honestly never expected or dreamed that she would get married to anybody that wasn't Uchiha Sasuke. Of course, now that the Uchiha was gone, she had to go with the next best thing. Kakashi was definitely the best choice after Sasuke. The silver haired man was strong, loyal and it didn't hurt that he had abs to kill for. All of this now belonged to Sakura and the thought thrilled her.

"What do we do now?"

Sakura blinked at the question. She honestly didn't know; her fantasies usually ended with the marriage. She hadn't really thought about what happened afterwards.

"I'm not too sure. I guess we just chill?" Kakashi shrugged and pulled out his notorious orange book before walking into her living room. Sakura stared after him. "What are you doing?"

She followed him into the living room and glared down at him as he sprawled out on the couch with a pillow tucked behind his head and the book propped open in front of him. "You said we should just 'chill' so I'm doing just that."

The pink haired woman shook her head in frustration. "No baka, I meant that we needed to get to know each other."

Behind his mask Kakashi made a face, luckily Sakura couldn't see it or the Copy Ninja might have needed a medic-nin. "Can't we do that later?"

"No, we can't. If this relationship is going to work then I've got to learn something about you besides what the bingo books tell me."

Kakashi eye smiled at the woman before snapping the book shut and placing it back into his pocket. "Okay, what would you like to know?"

Sakura blinked in shock before smiling, looking utterly pleased with herself. "I want to see what's underneath your mask."

The silver haired man flinched slightly before shaking his head 'no.' "I'm sorry Sakura, the timing isn't right."

Sakura's temper boiled as she gritted her teeth before taking a deep breath and smiling sweetly. "Please, Kakashi? I'm your wife. I deserve to see the face of my husband and, besides, I've already seen it."

Kakashi chuckled before shaking his head. "No you didn't. My mask was on the entire night."

"Well, now's a good time."

"I don't think so."

"Yes, it is."

"No, it's not."

Sakura growled. "Just take the damn mask off Kakashi." The older man looked at her with a critical eye before turning away and standing up. "Kakashi, where are you going?"

He looked back at her for just a few seconds before sighing. "I'm not a dog, Sakura, nor am I one of your subordinates at the hospital. If this relationship is going to work then you've got to realize that I've lived alone for a very long time. I don't handle change well and this is throwing me out of my element. If I say I don't want to talk about something or do something then don't try to badger me into it. You'll only piss me off. I'm going to go blow off some steam."

Sakura looked down at the floor. She really hadn't thought about the words she was saying, nor did she think about whom she was saying those words too. "I understand. When you get back we can talk."

Kakashi nodded and disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving Sakura with a cold dread settling in her heart. She didn't like being left alone and couldn't stand the silence in her own home. Quickly, she ran into the kitchen and made an impromptu shopping list, just to get herself out of the house. The pink haired woman didn't even make it to corner when a sudden presence stopped her completely in her tracks. She turned and glanced at the dark haired man leaning against the building. She looked around before stepping closer and grinning at him.

"Neji."

"Hatake-san, to what do I owe this pleasure."

Sakura rolled her green eyes. "Don't Neji, I had to. I thought I was pregnant. How did you find out anyway?"

Neji slowly traced the faint outline of a kunai attached to his arm through his sleeve. "It's not public knowledge yet, but someone at the mission's desk let it slip and I just so happened to overhear."

Sakura tucked a pink strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, that means it'll be all over Konoha before long."

"Hn."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Neji, don't be like this. What we had was good, but it's over now. I'm Hatake Kakashi's wife and I…"

Neji grabbed Sakura's wrist and slammed her against the brick wall before pulling her into a furious kiss. The pink haired woman kissed back just as furiously.

"I don't give a fuck whose wife you are, you'll remember me every time he touches you."

Sakura finally remembered herself and pushed Neji away from her. "Never again, Neji. That was our last meeting. Good day, Hyuuga-san."

Sakura hurriedly walked away from the man and prayed nobody saw that little display. It wouldn't do for her husband to think she was cheating on him.

* * *

By the time Kakashi finally returned to the apartment, Sakura was asleep on the couch. A part of Kakashi felt bad for staying out so late on his honeymoon, but he didn't exactly know how to handle this marriage of convenience. He agreed to it, but only out of duty. His family, dead or alive, would never forgive him if he didn't marry Sakura and raise the child with her.

Children were so hard to come by in the Hatake clan. Each one, regardless of the circumstances of the conception, was treasured. That mentality was one beaten into his head as a child as he watched his parents struggle through miscarriage after miscarriage. Seeing his parents in so much grief wasn't something he easily forgot.

Kakashi sighed before moving over and gently picking Sakura up from the couch. In her condition she wouldn't be comfortable sleeping on the couch. Sakura mumbled a few words underneath her breath before drifting back into the land of sleep; her head nestled in the crook of Kakashi's neck. For a moment, the silver haired man smiled at his wife and gently reached down to place a hesitant hand against her lower abdomen before walking into her bedroom and placing her beneath the covers.

In the morning they would go over all the little details, but for now, they would rest. Kakashi pulled the blanket around her shoulders before slipping into the bed beside her.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning to a charming sight. Not only had Kakashi carried her to her bed, he also climbed in beside her and was currently softly snoring against her pillow. His mask was still on, but his Hitai-ate was off, letting his silver bangs fall delicately over his eyes. To Sakura he looked almost boyish with the peacefulness of sleep etched into his face.

She reached over and brushed his bangs out of his eyes only to suddenly find herself pinned beneath him. His normally calm aura was deadly as the Sharingan spun wildly in his opened eye. For a few tense seconds Sakura feared the man hovering above her, until she saw the realization in his eyes. The color drained from his face as he realized what he was doing.

"Shit, I'm sorry Sakura."

Sakura slowly sat up and tried to hide her shaking hands from Kakashi. "It's okay. I should have known better than to do that. I wasn't thinking Kakashi."

Kakashi didn't look convinced. "No, I should have recognized you. What would have happened if that would have been our child?"

Sakura's smile suddenly became hollow as a severe cramp taunted her, almost like her body was reminding her that she wasn't pregnant. She swallowed thickly and grabbed his hand, ignoring the subtle way his entire body tensed.

"Let's talk about that later. We need to talk about some things today anyway."

"Like what?"

Sakura let go of his had to push the covers away from her legs and get out of the bed. "Like where we're going to live. I've seen your apartment. There's no way we're living there and this is only a one bedroom. We need a bigger place."

Kakashi stood up too and nodded. "Don't worry; I've got that taken care of. My family home is big enough, but it's going to need some work to get it ready. If we can stay here until the house is ready then we'll be just fine."

"Okay, sounds good to me. Let's go get some breakfast."

* * *

The next few weeks of Sakura and Kakashi's marriage were rather uneventful. Progress was being made on restoring the Hatake clan home, but it was a slow process. For now they lived in Sakura's apartment.

Kakashi spent most of his time on missions and Sakura spent her time divided between the hospital and home. Of course, Tsunade cut back her hours because the female Hokage thought her student was pregnant. So Sakura found out very quickly that she was growing bored with married life. There was also the problem she faced about the baby Kakashi thought they were having.

The silver haired man was as silent as ever, only speaking whenever Sakura spoke to him, but there was a tiny twinkle in his visible eye every time he looked at Sakura's belly. That spark of life in his eye made Sakura physically sick. She didn't know if she could stand to tell him that she wasn't pregnant. Not to say she wasn't trying to get pregnant, but Kakashi kept trying to get her into positions that she didn't feel comfortable doing. It almost always ended up with Kakashi getting frustrated and Sakura pitching a fit. They hadn't actually had a lot of sex, but Sakura was still religiously checking for pregnancy symptoms only to come up empty every time.

It wasn't until it was almost time for Sakura's monthly visitor did she decide exactly how she was going to handle breaking the news to Kakashi. She was going to fake a miscarriage. As horrible as it sounded that was the only way Sakura knew of explaining why they weren't having a baby, besides telling the truth, of course. So she went with the idea and capitalized on it.

She waited until Kakashi was gone before asking Tsunade to check her over because of how 'ill' she was feeling lately. Once more Sakura found herself physically sick at the look on someone else's face as the blonde Hokage informed her student that there was no embryo or fetus within her uterus. Sakura played the horrified mother well as she begged Tsunade to check again before dissolving into breathless sobs.

As Tsunade comforted the woman and ordered someone to summon Kakashi, Sakura mentally rejoiced. Yes, she was using dirty tactics, but now she and Kakashi had a new beginning. This was their chance to start over without the baby hanging over their heads and Sakura was determined to see their relationship change.

* * *

Tsunade was the one that informed Kakashi of Sakura's miscarriage. The man took it remarkably well considering he was actually looking forward to having someone to carry on his legacy, but he was a shinobi and understood that death sometimes attacked even the most innocent of victims. He dealt with it in his own way before going home to give Sakura the support Tsunade said she needed. Kakashi figured he could do that, he was her husband and it was expected of him.

Right then Kakashi vowed to do better. He was going to treat this like a mission and give his all to make Sakura happy. He returned home to find Sakura standing at the stove stirring something inside a pot. Awkwardly he walked over and touched her shoulder.

"Hey, are you okay?"

She looked back at him and nodded. "These things happen. You're not mad are you?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, there was nothing we could have done to prevent it."

Sakura nodded and directed him to sit down. "You're right, so let's just not mention it anymore. A new beginning perhaps?"

A part of Kakashi found Sakura's nonchalant attitude slightly suspicious. He vaguely remembered his mother suffering miscarriages. He couldn't exactly remember what happened, but he could picture the look of grief on his mother's face and the sadness on his father's.

There was an old legend in the Hatake clan that said Hatake children were hard to conceive because of the family chakra. The white chakra, while beautiful, was deadly. Too often the mother's chakra wouldn't adjust to the baby's change in chakra, which would often lead to miscarriages and stillbirths.

Kakashi wondered if he should mention this to Sakura, but decided against it when the pink haired woman moved back to the stove to finish cooking. The Copy Ninja decided to let the topic drop. Sakura was a kunoichi and would deal with it as she saw fit. If she insisted on making him sit here then he was going to catch up on some reading. He pulled out his copy of Icha Icha Paradise and flipped to his marked spot.

"My aunt dropped by today."

"Hmm?" Kakashi flipped a page and continued reading, half listening to the awkward conversation.

"She brought my mother's hope chest with her. Said it was a wedding present."

"That's nice."

"I thought so too. Is miso soup fine for supper tonight?"

Kakashi looked up from his book and nodded. "Miso with eggplant is my favorite dish."

Sakura scrunched her nose up. "Eggplant? I can't stand it. We're just having regular miso because I haven't had time to go to the store yet."

Kakashi sighed and continued reading his book. This whole relationship thing wasn't working. He needed help.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, there was an extra pregnancy test left at the hospital. The orders on it said it was run by you."

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork and blinked in confusion. "I haven't run a pregnancy test lately."

Shizune sighed softly. "No, but you asked me to run it a few weeks back and with everything happening I kind of forgot about it."

The blonde Hokage's eyes widened as she realized exactly whose pregnancy test just turned up. "How did we misplace those results?"

"I'm sorry Hokage-sama, it's been crazy at the hospital. No one came by to claim it, so it just sort of sat there."

"Do you have the report?"

Shizune nodded and handed the slightly dusty file over. The black haired woman ignored the blonde haired woman's raised eyebrow at the condition of the folder. Tsunade didn't need to know that the folder was literally swept underneath the table.

Tsunade scanned the report before stopping at the results. A slight fire burned in her veins as she read the words 'negative.' Sakura wasn't pregnant when she took the test. A monstrous headache began pounding inside Tsunade's head as she sat the folder down. She hoped to the heavens above that Sakura didn't do this on purpose because if she did then the girl was in for a rude awakening.

* * *

"You're coming to me for advice?"

"Gai, you're the only person that's known me long enough to be considered a close friend. You're also the only person that I know who won't go around telling everything I say."

Gai looked at his silver haired friend and clapped his hands together. "I'll see what I can do. So, tell me what's bothering you?"

"I got married and…"

"Whoa! Whoa! You got married without me knowing about it?"

Kakashi tiredly pinched the bridge of his nose to settle down the headache dully throbbing in the back of his skull. "Calm down and let me explain. I slept with Sakura after a night of drinking our sorrows away. She got pregnant so I married her out of honor. Unfortunately, she lost the baby and now we're just stuck."

Gai sighed and down at his kitchen table. Kakashi ambushed him early in the morning and practically dragged him back to his apartment so they could talk.

"Do you love her?"

"Define love."

"You should know, you read Jiraiya-sama's books."

Kakashi shook his head. "That's lust, not love. I care for Sakura, but as a comrade and friend. I would be upset if something were to happen to her, but I wouldn't do something drastic like crying."

"Caring is a start. I'm sorry about the baby, but this gives you two a chance to learn to love each other. Try to get to know her. Like find out all of her secrets and shower her with affection."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the green clad man in front of him. "Affection? So like flowers and stuff?"

"Yes, or maybe you two should get out of the village for a little while. Yeah! Take a honeymoon and just spend some time together. Maybe by the time you get back everything will start coming more naturally. You, my friend, just need to get used to sharing your life with your wife."

"I suppose I could ask for a week or two off. This just might work, thanks Gai."

"No problem rival. Now, I've got to go train or I'll get rusty and you'll win our competitions!"

* * *

Following Gai's advice, Kakashi swept Sakura away for a two-week honeymoon in the Land of Tea and just in time too. Somehow their relationship had gotten out around the village and everyone was treating them like animals to gawk at in a zoo.

The trip was rough and slightly awkward, but Kakashi found himself getting used to being around Sakura. He found himself smiling at some of the things she did or said. He found himself falling into a routine and it made him uneasy. He found it easier and easier to leave lingering touches on Sakura. He found himself kissing her cheek just as he remembered his father doing to his mother. Kakashi found himself falling in 'like' with Sakura. Not exactly love, but he didn't hate her. He even finally broke down and showed her his face, something he hadn't done in a long time.

"'kashi? Come back to bed."

Sakura found herself leaning into his shy touches and kisses. She quickly found out that feeling his arms wrap around her middle while she cooked at the stove was a very comfortable feeling, but there still was something missing between them. Sakura couldn't exactly point her finger on it, but all of Kakashi's quiet words were missing something important. She ignored those feelings, though, and focused on the task at hand. The pink haired medic could tell that Kakashi was warming up to her. She still didn't know anything about him, but she knew he wasn't going to kick her out anytime soon.

"I'll be there in a minute."

Sakura rolled her eyes at the stubborn man. "No, now. Come on, it's cold. I'm cold."

Kakashi's eyebrows scrunched together in frustration as he looked over at his wife lying in the bed. "Go back to sleep Sakura. Today's a bad day for me."

The silver haired man didn't miss the flash of impatience that settled into Sakura's green eyes before melting into concern. "What's today?"

"Nothing. I'm going for a walk."

With that Sakura watched as Kakashi walked out of their hotel room. As happy as Sakura was that they were making progress in their physical relationship, their emotional relationship wasn't even being touched. It all came down to the fact that Sakura knew nothing about Kakashi. He hadn't told her anything about his childhood or about his life in general. In fact, the only thing she knew, besides what she could find in any Academy textbook, was that his favorite meal was miso with eggplant.

Sakura huffed and rolled over to attempt to go to sleep, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't fall into a peaceful slumber. Eventually the pink haired woman got out of the bed and followed after her husband. If she wanted to change their relationship then she was going to have to put forth some effort.

Kakashi leisurely walked down the street in front of the hotel. The Land of Tea was a beautiful island nation, but even the scenery around Kakashi couldn't take his mind off of his troubles.

Today was the anniversary of his father's suicide. It hadn't even occurred to him until the clock struck midnight that today's date was significant.

This night was one forever burned into the Copy Ninja's memory.

His mother always wanted a big family, but by the time Kakashi was born she was already thirty-four-years old. Still perfectly capable of producing children, but since Hatake children were harder to carry, his father was a little resistant about having another child so soon after Kakashi's birth. They waited a few years before innocently telling the then Academy enrolled boy that he was going to be a big brother. Unfortunately, the next three pregnancies ended in miscarriages. It wasn't until after Kakashi's sixth birthday that his mother finally conceived twins and carried the future Hatakes to twenty-seven weeks, but the extra stress wasn't good on her body. The stress coupled with the fact that she was nearing her forty-first birthday was almost a death sentence to Kakashi's determined mother.

When Nozomi went into early labor, the medics never caught the placental previa that endangered both the mother and twins. The placenta had implanted itself low over Nozomi's cervix and blocked the passage for the babies to leave her uterus. Once the medics realized that was the problem they performed an emergency c-section to remove the babies. Sadly, during the operation Nozomi's blood pressure bottomed out and they lost her heartbeat before the medics could do anything to save her. One of the twins, a little boy, was stillborn, but the little girl held on for three whole months.

Kakashi remembered visiting the little girl with his father. Sakumo became very quiet and withdrawn during those three months after his beloved wife's death. He didn't neglect or abuse Kakashi, but the man wasn't the same. The little girl, named Hatake Megumi, was just too tiny to survive and gently passed away in Sakumo's arms with Kakashi looking quietly on. Kakashi fully believes Megumi's death was exactly what pushed his father over the edge.

Hatake Sakumo left on a mission four days after burying Megumi, failed the mission and came back a scorned man. All little Kakashi could do was helplessly watch his father waste away. It wasn't long before Sakumo killed himself and the little bit of love that remained in Kakashi's heart. Since that night all those years ago, Kakashi ran from anything that made him feel.

Bringing himself back to the represent, Kakashi reached into the pocket of the jacket he snatched from the hotel and pulled out a lone cigarette. Smoking wasn't something he did very often because he couldn't stand the smell of it, but tonight it seemed fitting.

"I didn't know you smoked."

Kakashi's fingers tightened around the cigarette as he looked over his shoulder at his pink haired wife. "I don't. This is a sendoff more than anything else."

Sakura looked down and muttered a soft 'oh' underneath her breath. She was freezing and cursing the man in front of her for being so cryptic and unpredictable. She hadn't realized how chilly the ocean air was and left the hotel room without grabbing a jacket.

"You're shaking."

Sakura quickly looked up as Kakashi moved forward and wrapped his arms around her to share warmth with her. The cigarette was now smashed underfoot and smoldering slightly. Sakura found herself leaning into the warmth and gripping Kakashi's jacket between her hands in effort to get even closer to the warmth of his body.

Kakashi chuckled before stepping away and removing his jacket to place it around the shivering kunoichi.

"Thanks Kakashi."

Kakashi shrugged and unknowingly wrapped his arm around Sakura's waist to guide her back to their hotel room. In the recess of his mind Kakashi couldn't help but remember being little and watching his mother and father dance across the kitchen floor while a soft tune played from the radio above the sink. He remembered wanting that one day and as the Copy Ninja looked at the kunoichi in his arms, he felt hope for the first time in a long time. He could still have that if he still wanted it.

Kakashi smiled and tightened his hold on the pinkette. Perhaps everyone was wrong. Perhaps he could learn to love and maybe, just maybe, he could love Sakura the way she needed to be loved. Kakashi nodded to himself as he leaned over and kissed Sakura's head affectionately, he was going to do this right.

* * *

*Smiles slightly with embarrassed flush* Did it read okay? I know I've said before that I'm not a fan of Sakura and I really hate doing these things to her, but she's the only one I can put in this place. Yes, it is cruel for her to fake a miscarriage, but you've got to admit that the girl's determined. I even added a little Kaka/Saku fluff there between the gritty parts. Don't worry, Naruto comes back soon. ;P

Until Next Time,

'Rayne


	4. Goodbye To A Honeymoon

It's been a while, but I'm alive! Holidays and school just caught me up. I feel bad because this chapter has been done for weeks, but I just haven't had the time to upload it. Oh well, here it is now.

I am really excited about the reviews I received for the last chapter. Don't worry, everything will be revealed soon. I will warn you guys now that this chapter takes a huge leap into the main plot of this story.

Happy Readings!

**Disclaimer: Yep, I still don't own anything.**

* * *

By the time Sakura and Kakashi made it back to Konohagakure there was a definite change in their relationship.

One that everyone took notice of.

The restoration of the Hatake clan home was finally complete and the newly wedded couple found themselves starting an entirely new chapter of their lives, together.

During the first two weeks after their vacation, Sakura practically glowed whenever Kakashi was around and Kakashi seemed almost doting on the medic. Every day he would walk her home from the hospital and she would track him down to drag him away for lunch. They were doing better together than Ino or Tsunade could have ever hoped.

But just like a beautiful rose, not all things last. The honeymoon phase of their relationship quickly ended as their differences started crawling out of the woodwork.

Sakura still couldn't get over the frustration of knowing nothing about her husband and living in his childhood home did nothing to curb her curiosity. She did have a right to know about his past as his wife, but she didn't want to learn on Kakashi's time. She would try to ease questions into their forced small talk, but he would clam up the moment he realized what she was trying to do. It frustrated the pink haired woman to no end.

Kakashi was a particular man to live with, something Sakura found out the hard way.

When they were redecorating the house and moving their stuff in, Sakura suggested painting the living room lavender. Kakashi disagreed and wanted to keep it the same beige color. Sakura pitched a fit and Kakashi ended up spending the night training in one of the jounin training fields with Tenzo. The other man knew Kakashi well enough to not question his sempai about the problems he was trying to pound away with his fists.

When they both finally cooled off and tried again, Sakura put her foot down and demanded for at least one room to decorate the way she wanted it. Kakashi finally caved just so he wouldn't have to listen to her whining. That is until she picked the den, the same one Sakumo loved, to redecorate. Once again Kakashi found himself arguing with his pink haired wife. In the end Sakura ended up in tears and Kakashi ended up feeling like a horrible husband. The den ended up staying the same.

Once the decorating fiasco was over, they both found entirely new reasons to argue. Sakura didn't like his training hours nor did she like the sheer number of missions he went on during the week. She wanted him home more and Kakashi found himself wanting to tell her that he was running from their home. He didn't, though, and compromised with the teary eyed kunoichi. In a stroke of brilliance, he told her that he would take fewer missions if she agreed to train with him. He didn't think she would go for it at first, but as soon as the determination set deep into her pretty green emerald eyes he knew he was getting a new sparring partner.

It really was a good plan on Kakashi's part. He knew he wasn't following his father's example of a good husband and that knowledge really did upset him. For just once he wanted something to go right. Having Sakura train with him would be a great way to connect with her and perhaps their sparring could turn into something a little more intimate and fun. It really wasn't fair for a married man to have to resort to his hand when he had a beautiful wife asleep in the next room. Unfortunately his plan didn't go as well as he wanted it to. Their sparring matches always ended with Sakura getting frustrated because he could outmatch her and Kakashi getting frustrated because he couldn't understand her.

Another thing they fought over was Kakashi's daily routine. He had a set routine and he didn't like changing it. It was a constant battle between him and Sakura over the little things, like sleeping arrangements. Sakura liked to go to bed early, but Kakashi would spend all night reading his books. It irritated Sakura that he would climb into bed at midnight and no matter how careful he was she would always wake up. Eventually they ended up sleeping in separate beds, only sleeping in the same bed whenever they had sex.

Even having sex wasn't as fun as Sakura thought it was going to be. Kakashi had an amazing body and was just as gifted in bed as he was as a shinobi, but there were things he wanted her to do that she thought were degrading. He actually had the audacity to ask her to act out his favorite Icha Icha scene. Kakashi also had this habit of trying to coax her into a position other than missionary. Sakura was raised in a very strict manner regarding sex. Her parents taught her the natural way to make love and Kakashi was showing her other, unnatural ways. Some of the things he wanted her to do made her feel no better than a common whore and she refused to do them.

With sex practically cut from their lives, Sakura and Kakashi found themselves at a crossroad. Their communication skills were nonexistent and they barely stayed in the same room together. The wall between them was too tall and too thick for them to try and break down. Sakura wouldn't even consider a divorce, but she did start snooping in hopes of finding something she could relate to him with. She was getting desperate and would gladly manipulate in order to keep her husband. She knew she wouldn't survive the public embarrassment if Kakashi filed for one.

It was during one of her searches that she found an old photo album in one of the boxes in their guest room. In it were pictures of who she assumed was Kakashi's father and mother and even a few of a young Kakashi.

"Sakura? Where are you?"

Sakura tried to hide the album, but Kakashi walked into the room just as she was closing the book. At first Kakashi didn't react, but when he did, his voice was steely and accusing. Almost like he was a father walking in on his daughter having sex.

"What are you doing?"

Sakura made a mistake in that moment, she snapped back at the accusing tone. "I'm trying to find out about my husband since he won't tell me anything."

Kakashi's eye narrowed at the pink haired woman. "What makes you think that you deserve to know my secrets?"

"Because I'm your wife and I don't deserve to be treated like this."

"You need to learn patience."

"Well, you need to grow a heart. You're so emotionally damaged that I dread waking up in the mornings."

"Well, I can't stand being in the same room with your constant whining. Sometimes I swear I live with a two-year-old."

"You're such a bastard! A no-good-failure of a husband."

Kakashi growled low in his throat before regaining control of his emotions and stepping backwards. "Leave my stuff alone, Sakura. I'll tell you everything eventually, but you've got to be patient."

Sakura shook her head. "I'm tired of being patient! I didn't know marrying you would be a twenty-four hour job or I wouldn't have done it!"

Kakashi actually laughed at the woman. "Wrong, you married me because you had no choice. You were an unmarried pregnant kunoichi and I refused to make you raise my child by yourself." Kakashi knew his next words were low blows, but Sakura was hurting his trust and pride by pulling these tricks. "Who knows how the baby would have turned out if you raised it by yourself. I can easily see your fangirl ways being inherited without a firmer hand."

Sakura's infamous temper suddenly roared to life at Kakashi's words. Her chakra danced around her dangerously as she stood up and snarled at the man. She knew she had to watch her next words. Kakashi would drop her faster than a hot potato if he found out she lied to him. "Well then, it's a good thing I lost the baby!"

Kakashi blinked slightly. "Don't say that Sakura."

"No, it is a good thing. I would rather have all our future children die than let them meet you."

Kakashi didn't listen any further. He quickly disappeared from the doorway and left the house. Leaving Sakura to glare angrily at the spot Kakashi once occupied. Even though she actually got a human reaction out of him, she was still pissed. The dark side of her wanted her to make Kakashi pay for everything he had done. So Sakura stood up and mechanically walked out of the front door and all the way to the Hyuuga estates.

There was one person she knew of that wouldn't care she was Kakashi's wife. One person she knew of that wasn't scared of Kakashi. She knew this person would give her exactly what she wanted. Once there, she walked right up to Hyuuga Neji's front door and knocked loudly.

"Well, if it isn't the beautiful Hatake Sakura. What can I do for you Hatake-san?"

Sakura grinned sweetly at the arrogant man and slowly reached up to unbutton her top.

Neji licked his lips before sneering at the woman. "I thought we were over, Hatake-san."

Sakura reached down and cupped her own breasts as she stared the Hyuuga down, challenging him to deny her. Neji grinned before reaching out and firmly stroking her covered breast. "Yes ma'am. Come right in."

Sakura grinned as she followed Neji inside. She would make Kakashi pay, she would make him pay big time.

* * *

As Sakura was breaking her wedding vows, Kakashi was breaking his personal vows by trudging towards the last place he remembered seeing his father alive, the Hatake family shrine.

Long ago, before the Shodai Hokage first laid eyes on the land that would one day become Konoha, there was a small tribe that resided on the territory. A clan of warriors and canines, a clan of startling white chakra and brown soil, a clan ready to protect their land and all that inhabited it. A clan that would one day become known as the Hatake clan of Konoha.

The history books in the Academy are a little vague concerning the true history of the Hatake clan, but the children of the clan know the age old story before they ever learn their first jutsu. Most people didn't realize that the Hatake clan dwelled on the land long before the Shodai decided he would make his village there. Most people also didn't realize that the Hatake clan of Konoha was started by a woman. All they knew was that once the people started pouring into the land, the clan had disappeared leaving behind a young, pregnant teenage girl.

The true story was one passed down from parents to children of the Hatake clan. One that Kakashi himself heard while he was still small enough to be rocked to sleep in daddy's arms.

The matriarch of the Hatake clan, Kariire, was just fifteen-years-old when a deadly disease swept through her entire tribe and began killing her family off one by one. Being the daughter of the clan head, it was her personal duty to try and find a cure for her dying kin. Sadly, no cure could be found and all too soon Kariire herself succumbing to the deadly disease.

Not being able to bear the sight of watching his beloved daughter, his last hope, die her father sent her into the mountains with an ill family friend to die near the land they loved so much. One night while Kariire's feverish mind wrecked havoc on her dreams, she had a vision of a wolf leading her to a cave cut out from the side of the mountain. In the dream she could clearly see herself eating a small purple flower and nearly instantly having her sickness healed. The wolf stood beside her the entire time, protective and brave. The dream made her heart ache for things that would never be.

With the remaining energy she possessed, Kariire quickly awakened her companion and told him of the dream she had. He sadly told her it was just the disease ravaging her mind and to go back to sleep. The dream persisted for the next three nights before the girl finally got tired and demanded he take her up the mountain. The man agreed before jokingly asking what he got out of it. Kariire did the only thing she could think of and promised she would marry him if he would just get her up the mountain. The man agreed and rushed to find the cave his wife-to-be continuously dreamed about.

They searched for an entire day before Kariire's weakness made her too tried to walk. Her husband-to-be carried her as far as he could, but with his own sickness devastating his body, he could only carry her so far. Eventually they both dropped to the ground, exhausted and defeated.

The man looked Kariire over before asking if he could take his husbandly right and sleep with her before they died. The lethargic woman agreed, refusing to go back on her promise. Though they were both exhausted and dying, they somehow managed to find the energy to bind themselves in the closest thing to a marriage they could get on the side of a mountain.

A few hours later, Kariire watched as her husband breathed his last and made her a widow. The young silver haired girl didn't even have the energy to cry as she drifted into an uneasy sleep waiting for her own death. While she slept another dream assaulted her mind, this one powerful enough to wake her up. In the dream, she could plainly see the wolf nipping at her heels leading her to the cave opening just a few inches away. All she had to do was crawl a few inches over and there would be her remedy.

She summoned all of her strength and chakra for one last ditch effort to find the cave. Luckily for her, it was enough for her to crawl over and weakly push away a few fallen branches and crumbling rocks. The strain on her body turned out to be more than she could bear. Her hands ached as she clawed at the rocks and she almost gave up, until she looked beside her and saw the paws of a wolf digging into the gravel, breaking through.

Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she looked into the cave and saw the beautiful purple flowers growing in abundance. Quickly, she reached forward and stuffed the flower, petals, stems, roots, and all, into her mouth. She chewed and swallowed until she couldn't any more.

Nothing changed.

Kariire let out a fierce cry as she crawled into the cave and laid in the middle of the growing flowers. Her determination and will gone as she prepared to die in the place of her dreams, but as she slept her dreams danced with images of a better life and that damned wolf leading the entire way. She even dreamed of the animal finding her help.

The thought tortured the girl.

The next time Kariire opened her eyes she was in the middle of Konoha's makeshift camp with a slightly swollen stomach and an extremely happy nurse.

The history books claimed that Kariire's mournful cry alerted the patrolling shinobi to her presence, but Hatake legend knows it was the wolf guardian that led the shinobi to her. Many of the first reports in Konoha history were of Kariire's rescue and how the wolves howled loudly that night, perhaps just to save the last daughter of an almost extinct clan.

That was the story Kakashi grew up on, the story he was expected to tell his children, and the story that was carved onto the walls of the family shrine. Kariire ended up giving birth to a set of twins boys and together the two found their mother's cave and turned it into a shrine for not just the family, but also for the canine companion that saved their lives.

Not a generation has passed since then that one of the descendents of Kariire didn't sign a summoning contract with some form of canine summon, whether that be a wolf or a dog. The contract itself was locked up tightly in a sealed box in the shrine. Only a true blooded Hatake or a spouse could open the box. Even then, the spouse had to perform the ceremonial mating ritual to make the seals recognize his or her blood.

Kakashi shook his head as he thought about the ritual; he didn't want to bind himself to Sakura right now because he didn't know if the seals could read the anger in his heart. It wouldn't be the first time the seals kicked him out of the shrine because he was a little too angry. The seals were amazing little things designed by Kakashi's great-great-great-grandfather. Self-preservation for the shrine was definitely the seal's number one priority, which was funny considering the seals didn't check for heritage. Anyone could enter the shrine, as long as they were calm and collected. If his chakra was flaring at a dangerous rate then the seals would activate and refuse him entrance, it was almost like being scolded by the dead man because the seals always made sure to slightly push against his skin in order to cause a slight sting. Yes, that's exactly what he needed too, a spanking from his Ojiisan.

Kakashi snorted at his own thoughts before slowing his pace down and enjoying the slight hike to get to the shrine. Not many people knew the exact location of the shrine, but those that did agreed that walking there was the best part. From his position, Kakashi could see all of Konoha and what a beautiful sight it was. He needed this. He needed to calm his thoughts and let his anger simmer before he tried to talk to Sakura again. He just needed some time to himself to think his life over.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Kakashi quickly jogged up the mountain side until he came to the opening of the shrine. Right above the slightly covered door was an old wooden plaque that had the words 'Hatake' etched into the wood. The sign was nearly completely covered with dirt and vines, but it was still there. Kakashi used to love coming to the shrine when he was a child because it was so cleverly hidden away that if you didn't know what to look for, then you'd never find it.

Kakashi stepped into the entrance and was met with a slight resistance before the seal's tug disappeared. For once in his adult life, Kakashi was sedated enough to enter the room. The moment he did he felt kind of guilty because everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. Feeling the guilt of neglect stirring up in his stomach, Kakashi produced a few clones and ordered them to quickly clean the shrine as best as they could.

While his clones cleaned, Kakashi walked deep into the shrine and followed the carved walls until he reached the family memorial. Every Hatake, regardless of shinobi status, was carved onto the slab of marble after their death. Hatake Kariire being the first name added and Hatake Sakumo being the last.

Kakashi sighed deeply as he knelt before the memorial and reached over to the jar of incense. Using a small spark of chakra, he lit the stick and clapped his hands together.

"What do I do now? I'm completely lost as to what I do for Sakura. You guys are supposed to be my ancestors and are supposed to guide me, so where is my guidance?"

Kakashi's ears were met with silence and he found himself feeling slightly foolish for asking for help from his dead relatives. He stood and growled low in his throat before stalking towards the entrance of the shrine. The sight at the entrance, though, stopped him in his tracks. His clones were gone, they dispersed themselves after completing his orders, but sitting in the entrance of the shrine was a grey wolf.

His hands itched to reach for a kunai, but something told him to not harm the animal before him. The wolf growled as he walked forward and circled Kakashi. The silver haired man watched as the wolf nuzzled his leg before pushing on the back of his knees with his muzzle. Kakashi refused to budge, which caused the wolf to move towards Kakashi's front and nip at the bottom of his pants leg.

A part of Kakashi watched with an amused eye as the wolf sunk his teeth into the fabric of his pants and tugged him forward. His curiosity finally got the better of him and he allowed the wolf to pull him forward and out of the shrine. Once outside, the wolf let him go and walked forward slightly before looking back at the man. Kakashi sighed as he realized the wolf wanted him to follow him.

Kakashi took a step forward as the wolf took off down the path, causing the shinobi behind him to speed up. They ran together all the way down the mountain side and through the forest until Kakashi could see the gates of the village. His wolf companion stopped quickly and pushed Kakashi forward just as the gates were carelessly thrown open as a blonde blur raced through them.

Kakashi along with shopkeepers and shinobi alike watched as a five-foot-four inch blonde haired woman with bright blue eyes and braided blonde hair that fell to the middle of her back entered the village. She no longer sported the infamous orange jumpsuit, but upgraded to a more mature look. She now sported a pair of black shorts that fell mid-thigh with a single orange stripe down the legs of the shorts. Her shirt was a burnt orange color with panels of black along the chest and on the sleeves. Her blue Hitai-ate was switched out for a black one and her feet were covered in black shinobi boots that extended just below her knees. There was no denying who had finally returned.

A single gloved hand pointed to the villagers and gave them a bright smile, one they hadn't seen in almost six years.

"Uzumaki Naruto is back Konoha!"

The grin on Kakashi's face was hidden as he immediately recognized the woman causing such a ruckus in the middle of the village. His student had finally returned home. Kakashi turned to look at the wolf to see what he was supposed to be looking at, but whenever he turned around there was nothing there.

"Damn wolf and wild goose chases. I should have known better. I bet he just wanted someone to play with."

Kakashi watched as Naruto walked, well ran, away from the village gates with Jiraiya trailing behind her. He had better go to the Hokage Tower to see what Tsunade's orders were; he would deal with his marriage later.

* * *

*grins* How'd ya like it? I tried to show some good points and some bad points. I don't hate Sakura, I just don't like her. I also thought long and hard about the whole Neji affair. I see it as plausible. Neji is just the type of person to not care that Kakashi is supposed to be this elite jounin. The tale of the Hatake clan comes into play later. Don't worry, it doesn't involve anything cliche. Also, I'd like to reiterate that Naruto is not going to become the 'mistress' or 'second wife'.

Until next time,

'Rayne


	5. Hello To Heartbreak

Yes, yes, yes, I'm still alive and so is this story! I've recently been inspired to try and complete this story. The first 'arc' is done and we're now at the second 'arc' or the middle point of the story. I'm rather proud of this chapter and hope you all like it. I'm also very thankful for everyone that reviewed and alerted Honest Expectations. It's growing to be a favorite of mine to write! I think I just like writing Sakura. ;P

So Sakura does get a little bitchy in this one, but it doesn't stay that way. I've tried hard not to fall into the pitfalls of writing Sakura, especially considering I don't like her character very much.

Anyway, if there are any questions or comments, don't be afraid to ask, I'll answer!

Happy Readings!

**Disclaimer: *checks email* (*$!#*$) I still don't own Naruto! **

* * *

When Naruto walked into the Hokage Tower for the first time in six years she expected some staring, but she didn't expect everyone to stop what they were doing and literally follow her with their eyes. She also didn't expect the excited whispering that quickly spread throughout the mission room as the ninja waiting there noticed exactly who she was.

"It's Naruto!"

"She's finally back."

"_Damn_, she got _hot!_"

Naruto fought down a blush from the last whispered exclamation as she made it to the front of the mission's desk line to see a very shocked and happy Iruka.

"Naruto? Is it really you?"

Naruto grinned brightly and nodded as Iruka quickly moved from behind the desk to pull her into a bone crushing hug. The blonde haired girl hugged back just as hard despite the fact she was sure her ex-sensei's grip was going to leave bruises for Kyuubi to heal later.

"I've missed you, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka chuckled as he grabbed her elbow and guided her away from the nosy shinobi waiting in line to drop off their mission reports.

"I've missed you too, Naruto-chan. Jiraiya-sama didn't do anything funny to you or throw strange men at you, did he?"

Naruto rolled her eyes at the overprotective man in front of her. "No Sensei, contrary to popular belief, Jiraiya does actually have morals. He's my godfather, Iruka-sensei, and besides, he doesn't usually touch random women, he just leers. Now, he did throw men at me."

"I'll kill him."

Naruto laughed and shook her head. "Don't, Sensei! They were all nice men. All were gentlemen and all knew how to treat a girl." Iruka looked relieved, until Naruto's mischievous side flared up. Innocently she grinned up at Iruka with wide blue eyes. "Most of them were really good in bed too. Though, there was this one man who just wasn't any good at all. He kept trying and all I felt like doing was eating ramen. Definitely not one of my better nights."

Iruka's face paled to the color of paper before a bright red streak erupted from around his scar and spread out all over his face. Naruto couldn't help but laugh hysterically as the older man started damning Jiraiya to the lowest pits of Hell. When Naruto finally regained control of herself, she told her father-figure that she was just joking around with him.

Which led to a bunch of embarrassing questions about her sex life and virginity status that she really didn't feel comfortable answering in the middle of the mission room.

"Iruka! Stop! I was only teasing you, so please stop torturing me!"

Iruka took in the woman in front of him with a wary eye and sighed. "Naruto, I'm just worried about you. You're a beautiful, young woman and I don't want anybody to take advantage of that."

Naruto rolled her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest. "I can handle myself, Sensei, don't worry about me."

That's when Naruto caught a small incriminating bruise along the side of Iruka's neck. It almost perfectly blended into his skin color, but Naruto knew it wasn't just a regular bruise. It was a love bite.

The blonde haired woman grinned and leaned closer to Iruka. "I feel like I should be worrying about you, Sensei." Naruto gently reached over and pressed a finger against the bite mark on the side of his neck. "Someone likes it rough."

This time Iruka's face turned red for a whole other reason. He coughed to hide his embarrassment and tried to look anywhere but Naruto's face. "I don't know what you're talking about, Naruto."

She cocked a blonde eyebrow at her blushing sensei as he stammered out his denial. "Iruka-sensei, I'm old enough to know what a hickey looks like and that is definitely a hickey. So who have you been swappin' spit with?"

If possible, Iruka's blush intensified. He hissed at Naruto before pushing her towards Tsunade's door. "This isn't the appropriate place for this conversation!"

Naruto smirked as she opened the heavy red door and walked through. "Now you know my embarrassment, Sensei."

Iruka groaned as the girl shut the door behind her. What was it with the blondes in his life? Did they all want him to die of embarrassment? If Inoichi didn't kill him for touching his daughter, then Naruto was going to inadvertently cause his premature death all by herself.

* * *

Naruto grinned as she walked through the door of Tsunade's office and found the blonde haired Hokage napping against a few important looking documents. The prankster in Naruto wanted to prank the Hell out of the unsuspecting Hokage, but the mature woman in her knew that wouldn't be the best way to greet her Hokage. It took the prankster part of Naruto exactly two seconds to shove down her maturity and stalk over to Tsunade's desk with a prank already in mind.

As quietly as she could, Naruto crouched down and opened the little drawer where Tsunade stashed her alcohol from Shizune. Nimble fingers removed the three precious bottles from their hidden compartment before silently moving across the room and dumping the sake into the lone potted plant in the corner of the room. If Naruto remembered correctly, this was the plant she gave the Sandaime for his birthday the year before he died. She hoped her little prank wouldn't cost the tall, green plant its life. Taking the now empty bottles, Naruto reached behind the potted plant and picked up the jug of water that Tsunade used to water her plants. Keeping a close eye on Tsunade, Naruto poured the distilled water into the sake bottles before quickly returning them to their original hiding spot.

Seeing that Tsunade was still sleeping, Naruto took the time to enact part two of her plan. Arranging herself to where she was directly in Tsunade's ear, the blonde haired woman took a deep breath and shouted.

"_Wake up, Baa-chan!"_

Tsunade's head and fists snapped up just as Naruto jumped away from the irritated woman. "What the _hell_!"

Naruto snorted in laughter as she walked over and perched herself on the edge of Tsunade's desk. "Now, Baa-chan, you should be working, not napping."

Tsunade's glare threatened to cut Naruto into a thousand pieces as she gritted her teeth and massaged her temple with her fingers. "Gaki, don't make me kill you. I haven't seen you in five years and I already want you to leave again."

"Oh, _Baa-chan_, I've missed you too!"

A twitch developed over Tsunade's right eye as she folded her hands underneath her chin and stared at the smart-alecky blonde. "You're pushing your luck, brat."

"Now, Baa-chan, we both know you like me too much to harm me."

"I like Jiraiya too, but that doesn't stop me from putting his annoying ass in the hospital every once in a while."

Naruto jumped down from the desk and snorted in laughter. "Yeah, but he deserves it most of the time. I haven't done a single thing wrong."

Tsunade cocked a delicate eyebrow as she smirked at the blonde haired woman in front of her. "Yet. You haven't done a single thing wrong, yet. You haven't matured at all, gaki."

Naruto only grinned before fully standing in front of Tsunade's desk and formally bowing before the woman. "Hokage-sama, it's an honor to be back in the village."

Tsunade nodded respectfully at the bow. "Welcome back, shinobi. I assume your training was helpful?"

The two women looked at each other in silence before their resolves broke and they erupted into laugher. Naruto clutched at her sides in an attempt to stifle the violent shakes as she laughed. "I didn't think I'd be able to do that with a straight face. How's everything been here, Baa-chan?"

Tsunade managed to catch her breath before Naruto did and simply shrugged, trying to keep her mind far away from the Sakura issue. She still didn't know how she was going to break it to Naruto. "Everything is good here."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the woman after noticing the tone of hesitancy in her voice. "You say that like you're trying to hide something from me."

The Hokage wasn't expecting Naruto's perceptiveness. There was once a time when her hesitancy would have been missed completely by the hyperactive blonde. She really had matured during her time away from Konoha.

It was then that the familiar chakra of one silver haired jounin landed outside her window. Naruto seemed to have noticed it too because her eyes drifted ever so slightly to the window as a small grin stretched across her face. That grin, so hopeful and loving, nearly broke Tsunade's heart.

Naruto didn't notice the sudden sadness in the older woman's eyes, because she was across the room opening the window before Tsunade could stop her. Her heart leapt happily in her chest as she saw the silver haired man squatting nonchalantly on the edge of the roof with his worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise opened in front of his face. The blonde haired shinobi leaned against the windowsill and grinned at her crush.

"Kakashi-sensei, normal people use doors."

Kakashi snapped the book closed and held up a hand in greeting to Naruto. "Yo! Welcome back, Naruto."

Naruto ushered the other man in, trying hard not to let her hands linger too long on the muscles she wanted to touch so very badly. Mentally Naruto blushed at her desires; she really had spent too much time with Jiraiya if she was thinking things like that.

Tsunade leveled a cold, hard stare at Kakashi. "I don't believe I summoned _you_."

The man shrugged as he slouched and looked anywhere but at Tsunade. "You would have eventually summoned me."

Naruto snorted as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He's right, Baa-chan! Now that I'm back, we can kind of put Team Seven back together." Blue eyes darkened with emotion as they instantly remembered the other member of the team that would no longer be a part of it. "Sasuke may be gone, but that doesn't mean Team Seven, me, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei, can't do missions together."

Tsunade breathed deeply through her nose as she tried to figure out a way to break the news to Naruto about Kakashi and Sakura's marriage because having a relationship between two members of the team usually changed team dynamics. The Hokage looked over at Kakashi, almost wishing she could ask him to tell the girl about his recent addition to his family.

"Why don't we call Sakura here and then we'll discuss the future of your team."

Tsunade tuned out Naruto's exasperated sigh before summoning an ANBU to deliver a message to Sakura.

* * *

The ANBU operative found Sakura meticulously scrubbing her clothes in the laundry room of the Hatake home. The woman was so involved in her duty that the operative managed to startle the pink haired woman.

"Sakura-san, the Hokage requests your immediate presence."

Sakura frowned as she dropped her red top back into the disinfectant in the bathtub. "Do you know what it's about?"

"No, ma'am."

The pink haired woman sighed before reaching down to ring out the water in her top. She turned to the ANBU and held out the drenched top. "Hey, before you go, can you detect a scent on this?"

The ANBU tilted his head to the side before taking the clothing and inhaling. A short second later and shook his head. "No, ma'am."

"Good. Tell her I'll be there shortly."

The sound of the ANBU disappearing filled the laundry room as Sakura gathered up all of her clothes and drained the basin. Her heart was numb, but her mind was racing. She couldn't believe what she did. She fucked Neji because of some twisted sense of retaliation and the bad thing about it, she didn't even regret it.

She didn't regret dishonoring her wedding vows nor did she regret giggling whenever she stumbled back into their house smelling of sex and Hyuuga. A part of her wanted, no needed Kakashi to know that she could have anybody that she wanted. She was Haruno Sakura, a beautiful and strong kunoichi that honestly believed her husband should be grateful she stuck around with his emotionally scarred ass.

Of course, her giddy high quickly fell whenever she remembered how much honor meant to her husband. In a mad frenzy, Sakura began disinfecting the entire house in an effort to kill the smell of Neji she brought into the house. The same part of her that wanted Kakashi to find out about her treachery, very quickly froze up in fear at the thought of what Kakashi would do to her once he found out about her little romp with the other man.

Once Sakura was sure the house and herself were in order, she took off towards the Hokage Tower. It didn't take her long to get there, but whenever she entered Tsunade's office her heart skipped a beat whenever she saw Kakashi leaning against the wall with Naruto animatedly talking to him. Kakashi looked over Naruto's head and held her gaze for the longest time. Sakura didn't know what the gaze meant, but there was a seriousness in that eye that worried her.

"Glad you could join us, Sakura."

Naruto turned around and excitedly bounced across the room to envelope her pink haired friend into a bone crushing hug. "Sakura-chan! I've missed you so much! Why do you smell like you've been in a hospital?"

Sakura gently pushed Naruto away as she smiled at the woman in front of her. "I've missed you too, Naruto."

No one else seemed to notice that Sakura completely ignored Naruto's question.

"Now that Sakura is here, we've got to discuss the change in dynamics for Team Seven."

Naruto rolled her eyes and impatiently tapped her foot. "Baa-chan, we already know I'm still a genin and everybody else is a higher rank than me, so there's no need to go over that."

Tsunade looked over to the married couple in the room and sighed whenever they wouldn't meet her eyes. Of course, she always had to do the dirty work.

"Naruto, the rankings within the team isn't what I'm talking about. I'm talking about relationships within the team."

Naruto's heart skipped a beat, but it wasn't out of hope, it was out of dread. From her peripheral vision she could see Sakura reddening and Kakashi going completely still. The blonde hair woman's heart began beating hard against her chest as she prayed what she was seeing wasn't true.

Surely, surely Sakura hadn't gotten the only thing she wanted more than the title of Hokage?

Finding her voice, feeling rather pleased with herself that she didn't croak when she spoke, Naruto played the dumb card. "What are you talking about, Baa-chan?"

Tsunade knew she was going to need a gallon of sake after this meeting was over with. Good thing she had a few bottles hidden from Shizune in her desk. She had no choice. She would have to say something. Maybe if she got it over quickly it would hurt less, just like ripping a band-aid off.

"Since Kakashi and Sakura are now married, the team dynamics have to change. There's nothing written in the shinobi code against a married couple being on the same team, but usually couples are not teamed up together."

Naruto's world shattered with the word 'married.' A dull ache formed in her heart as Tsunade went on to impose some new rules for the newly reunited Team Seven, but Naruto didn't pay them any attention. She was too focused on the fact that she just missed out on the only man she'd ever shown any serious interest in. Sure, he didn't know about her feelings for him, but Naruto would have never guessed that Sakura, Sasuke's biggest fan, would somehow steal their sensei away.

Tsunade barely managed to keep her cool as she watched Naruto's eyes dull ever so slightly. Those cheeks that just moments ago were alight at her proximity to Kakashi were now paler than a sheet of paper. Naruto looked like her entire world had just been turned upside down. Tsunade continued watching the girl from the corner of her eye as Naruto fell right back into an old pattern and hid her pain with a smile. In fact, if Tsunade wouldn't have known any better, she'd say nothing was wrong with Naruto. The girl's body language said she was completely at ease, but every so often her eyes would tell a different story.

It was the single most painful thing she'd seen in a long time.

Once the meeting was over, Naruto turned to the couple and gave them a hollow smile, trying her best to not show her true feelings. She could never let them find out about her feelings. She wasn't going to be a home wrecker. "Congratulations you two. I would have never guessed I'd come back and find my two most special people together."

It was then that Naruto reached into the bag at her side and stroked the spines of the two books within. Forgoing the book she wrote, Naruto pulled out Jiraiya's Icha Icha Tactics and placed it in Kakashi's hands.

It hurt when Kakashi pulled her into a quick hug of gratitude because deep in her heart she knew their hugs would never mean what she wanted them to mean.

Friendship was as close as she'd ever get with the love of her life.

* * *

It wasn't until hours later, after Team Seven left and Jiraiya somehow found his way into her office, that Tsunade found Naruto's prank. The Hokage was so depressed at having to destroy Naruto's crush on Kakashi that she didn't even have the heart to plan revenge on the genin.

Instead, Tsunade sat at her desk with Jiraiya standing solemnly behind her and lamented Naruto's ill-fated path.

Why did everything have to happen to Naruto?

Wasn't it enough that she was forced to harbor a demon, while at the same time losing her entire family? Wasn't it enough that she grew up a lonely child because of the demon sealed within her gut?

Why did life seem to take all of her gaki's happiness away, especially when the girl had already sacrificed so much?

Where was the justice in that?

Jiraiya offered no comforting words because he honestly had none to give his longtime friend. He knew how hard Naruto had fallen for Kakashi, but he also knew that she would eventually get over him.

Naruto just wasn't the type of girl to chase after a married man.

* * *

*grins as she flips through book* So? What did ya think? Next chapter, which everyone will be happy to hear that I've already started working on, will deal more with Sakura's reaction after it finally hits her what she did. Plus, the girl's got a plan and don't we all know that this isn't going to end well?

Then I get to have some fun with Kakashi and Naruto. ^_^

Well, please don't forget to review and I'll get back to everybody as soon as I can!

'Til next time,

'Rayne


	6. Hello To Guilt

Welcome back to Honest Expectations!

Moving right along, this chapter deals with a lot of emotional stuff and really, we're coming to the climax of Sakura's problems. After writing this I am starting to like her more, but I'm still not singing praises to the masses over her. She's growing on me like a fungus. ^_^

Anyway, happy readings!

**Disclaimer: Do I even have to say it? **

* * *

Naruto looked around her surprisingly clean apartment with saddened eyes. She was grateful to whoever kept her apartment in such nice shape, but it just reiterated the fact that she lived alone. No one was waiting for her. All she had were few plants and an empty apartment. Normally it wouldn't have bothered her, but now she felt so lonely it wasn't even funny.

The kunoichi moved through her house, smiling as she noticed Iruka's handwriting on a card sitting on her table. Apparently the man had taken it upon himself to take care of the apartment for her. That's why she loved her ex-sensei, he always thought of others first. There was no telling how many times he stopped over just to clean or water her plants. Once she started taking missions again, she was going to have to treat him to ramen.

Naruto walked slowly away from the table and into her bedroom where she tossed her bags onto the floor by her bed. It felt surreal to be back in her apartment, especially considering nothing had changed. It was almost like she never left. The blonde haired girl sat down on the edge of her bed and looked over at the picture of Team Seven sitting on her windowsill. Surprisingly enough, it was Kakashi's, not Sasuke's, face she focused on. Naruto quickly turned away from the picture as hot emotion pooled behind her eyes. Perhaps her crush on Kakashi had been silly, but damned if it didn't hurt losing him.

Shaking her head and curling up on her side, Naruto faced the mocking picture and stared long and hard at it. In her mind, Naruto knew she couldn't dwell on Kakashi, but her heart still ached. It hurt not getting the one thing she wanted most of all, to simply be loved by him.

"Brat?"

Naruto didn't even acknowledge Jiraiya as the man sat down on the edge of her bed. Jiraiya didn't know what to tell Naruto because he knew sugary words wouldn't help her. She needed to be spoken to bluntly or she'd never listen to him.

"Quit moping."

"I'm not moping, Jiraiya. I'm tired and I want to sleep."

"Staring at your love's picture isn't sleeping."

Naruto averted her eyes from the picture before meeting Jiraiya's. "I'm used to not getting what I want, but this time it's different. I wish I had the chance to tell him how I felt. It might not have mattered, but now I get to spend the rest of my life with 'what if' questions. What if I would have told him before I left or what if I would have never left."

Jiraiya let her finish before reaching over to the windowsill and pushing the picture facedown. "Don't, Naruto. You're not that melodramatic. The man you thought was your soul mate is married to your teammate; soul mates can't be separated so easily. If he's truly the man you're supposed to be with, then eventually you will be with him."

"I'm not going to wreck a marriage!"

"No one ever said that, Naruto. What I'm saying is that life has a way of throwing us curveballs when we least expect them. It's going to sound cliché, but if it's meant to be, then it's meant to be."

"What if it's not meant to be then?"

"Then your real soul mate will find you, just like Gin's soul mate Naomi found him in chapter fifteen of Icha Icha Violence after the lusty Sayuri broke his heart by eloping with her manservant."

Naruto's eyes flickered between the facedown picture and Jiraiya's hand, which was resting a little too closely to her Gama-chan wallet for her comfort, before she gave the man a bright smile. Despite the heartache she felt, being around Jiraiya always made her smile, even if there was always the underlying threat of having her money swindled away. "Isn't that the one where Gin ends up cross-dressing in order to break into the castle's harem and nearly gets married off to one of the visiting princes?"

"Yep! Best scene I've ever written while drunk. Now, come on, let's hit the training grounds I have a new jutsu to teach you."

"It's dark outside and we both know 'teach' means you show me the jutsu once and then leave. I'd rather sleep tonight."

Jiraiya shrugged as he discreetly snatched Naruto's wallet off of her bed. "Your loss, see ya later, brat."

Naruto sat up and watched him walk out of the room before getting up and following after him. "You are not getting away with stealing Gama-chan that easily!"

* * *

Kakashi tossed and turned in his bed, completely frustrated with his sudden inability to sleep. It was annoying to be so tired and still be too worked up to fall into the sleep he wanted so badly. Finally, he resigned himself to his fate and stared unblinking at the ceiling above him as his mind continued racing through the day's events. He almost wished he could turn his brain off long enough for him to actually get to sleep.

His problem was simple. The argument between him and Sakura hit a lot of sensitive points. He would never admit it out loud, but it actually hurt to hear Sakura say she was glad their child died. It hurt even more to hear the implication in her words when she declared she would rather have all of their future children die than meet him. Was he really that bad of a person? Did he really give off the vibe of a bad, potential father?

Kakashi closed his eyes and thought back to the man his father was. Hatake Sakumo had been a humble and loving man. Kakashi may have the same humble qualities, but he was nowhere near as loving as Sakumo was. Kakashi was too hardened by the world around him and it showed through his interactions with his wife. For the first time in a long time, Kakashi actually felt ashamed of his actions. His wife, Sakura, was supposed to be treated with the utmost respect and love. Yes, their union was one more of necessity than love, but she still deserved his attention and respect. It was then that Kakashi decided he would have to fix their crumbling relationship. He would have to be the one who made the first move.

Just as he closed his eyes, though, another image assaulted his memory, one of a blonde haired woman.

He could easily picture the look on Naruto's face after Tsunade told her about his marriage to Sakura and it made his chest throb dully with another pang of guilt. He hadn't done his wife right, nor had he done his remaining teammate right. Essentially because of his actions with Sakura, their entire team dynamics were changed around. In fact, with Sakura being removed from the team, he completely wrecked the remaining Team Seven. Surely, Naruto expected to return home to some form of stability and he inadvertently ripped that expectation away.

Of course, something about Naruto seemed off to the silver haired man. The woman was obviously more upset with finding out about his marriage than finding out about Sakura's removal from the team. It caused even more guilt to swell within Kakashi's chest as he assumed Naruto was angry at him for sleeping with one of her closest friends. He did basically use Sakura as a means of relieving an urge. Not that Naruto would know that since no one went into the gritty details about how their relationship happened, but Naruto did probably feel left behind since she wasn't informed of the union. It really wasn't that hard to get a message into Mount Myoboku. He could have easily sent her a letter telling her about what happened.

Kakashi sighed deeply as he twisted onto his stomach and ran a hand through his unruly hair. He hated whenever he couldn't sleep because his mind usually ran through things he had no control over or things that didn't even matter to the situation. Naruto didn't know about the original one night stand between him and Sakura so he really shouldn't feel guilty about that. Of course, Kakashi was a glutton for punishment and usually just blamed himself for everything anyway.

Another sigh filled the room as Kakashi buried his face into his pillow, allowing his shoulders to slump as another realization hit him hard. He had been too worried over his marital issues and over Naruto's present to fully welcome the woman back. Her arrival had been pushed into the back of his mind and forgotten about. He had planned to treat her to ramen, but that was quickly forgotten as his eyes began devouring the newest Icha Icha.

Kakashi groaned into the room as he flipped onto his back and rubbed his eyes with his hands. He had to make his marriage right and then he needed to talk to Naruto. He had to make sure everything was alright between them. He really didn't want to lose her friendship; it made being in Konoha all the more interesting.

Finally, Kakashi succumbed to sleep.

* * *

Sakura woke up the next morning with a lump of cool dread resting the pit of her stomach. Her dreams during the night weren't as pleasant as they usually were. Gone were her normally sweet dreams and emplace were a series of horrible nightmares, each one worse than the one before it. All of Sakura's dreams revolved around Kakashi finding out about her little romp with Neji. From what she remembered, he didn't react very well.

The pink haired woman unconsciously rubbed her hand across the front of her neck as she swung her legs over the side of her bed. Her last dream had been so vivid that she could swear she felt the steel of the kunai as Kakashi dug it into the vulnerable skin of her neck. The memory of the dream was enough to send shivers up and down Sakura's spine. It terrified her, now that she was finally left alone with her thoughts, to think about what Kakashi would do if he ever found out. What really surprised Sakura, though, was the immense guilt she felt in the aftermath of her actions. At first she thought her fling with Neji wouldn't affect her, but waking up the next morning literally sick with disgust was enough to throw that thought out the window.

Eventually Sakura settled her thoughts long enough to survive a trip down the hall to the bathroom. Unluckily for her, she caught Kakashi just as he was walking out of the bathroom. Seeing her husband standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist and another one draped over his shoulders, the pink haired woman realized she actually got a good deal when she married Kakashi. Despite his standoffish personality and his inability to accept change, he was a good man.

The pink haired woman suddenly felt queasy as she thought about the man her husband was. She wasn't stupid, she may have her blind moments, but she wasn't stupid. He was a respected jounin, a powerful man, and any girl would be lucky to marry someone with his reputation. Of course, he was also perverted, lazy, and an asshole, but it was the moments where he would gently wrap his arms around her and kiss her cheek that made his flaws worth being with him.

"Are you okay, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked rapidly as she noticed she was still standing at the bathroom door staring at Kakashi. With his mask down she could see the concern in his face as he placed the back of his hand against her forehead to see if she had a fever.

Sakura stepped away from him and gave him her best impression of a winning smile. "I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all."

Kakashi didn't look convinced, but he dropped it. He gave her a mock salute as he turned to walk towards his bedroom. He stopped, though, right before he opened his door and looked back at her. There was something in his eye, almost like he was debating whether or not he should speak or just go into his room. Eventually he decided to speak. "Did you do some cleaning yesterday?"

The pink haired woman's heart nearly stopped as she remembered her mad dash to disinfect the house. Very slowly she nodded her head. "Yes, why?"

Kakashi simply shrugged and looked almost sheepish as he turned to grin at her. "I could smell the bleach and the bathtub was spotless." He looked away only to look back up at her and smile. "I know we didn't speak much yesterday after our argument, but I want you to know that I'm going to try harder this time. Okay? I want this to work between us."

The sincerity in Kakashi's voice was enough to make Sakura nod her head and give a weak response before shutting herself in the bathroom. It was there, surrounded by those four walls, that Sakura made a vow. She would never go back to Neji. Maybe if Kakashi would have still been cold to her or even yelled at her, she would have, but she couldn't cheat on a man that laid down his pride just for their relationship to work.

The only problem was that she didn't know how to fix their relationship. It was in that moment that Sakura really missed Ino. Ino would know exactly what to do in order to make everything better. Fighting back her guilt at that ruined friendship, she turned her thoughts towards saving her marriage. She knew she needed to stay away from anything to do with his past because that would only end with them having another argument.

Sakura sighed deeply as she plopped down on the edge of the bathtub and thought about her options. She didn't have the first clue where she needed to start in order to get the best results. It was in that moment that Sakura accidentally knocked over her basket of shampoos and conditioners sitting beside the tub. The lone bottle of baby oil Sakura usually used to shave her legs rolled out of the basket right beside her feet.

With a shaking hand, Sakura reached down and snatched up the baby oil. Her mind was suddenly assaulted with images of Kakashi before she faked her miscarriage and how excited he had been during that time. It was the perfect plan. A baby was what started their marriage and a baby was what would fix their marriage.

* * *

Kakashi and Sakura continued dancing around each other for most of the morning. Since Naruto was back, the entire squad had been given a day off so they could adapt to the changes in the team. Sakura would no longer be on Team Seven, and would instead work full time at the hospital. Kakashi and Naruto both protested this change, but Sakura stopped them. She was the one that requested weeks ago to take fewer missions and more hospital shifts, so really it was her decision. Naruto didn't like having the remaining members separated, but she understood that this was her friend's wishes and she wasn't going to go against them. Kakashi and Naruto were being teamed up with two new members, but Tsunade wouldn't tell them who.

It wasn't 'til lunchtime that Sakura finally broke the awkward silence between them.

"How's the book Naruto gave you?"

Kakashi nearly choked on the rice he was eating because he hadn't anticipated her question. She always complained whenever he read his Icha Icha books so he learned fairly early to not read them in front of her.

"It's good, better than the last two."

"That's good. I must admit I hadn't expected Naruto to be so thoughtful. She's matured."

Kakashi shrugged. "Hardships and the things Naruto has seen will do that to a person. She's stronger now. Might even give me a run for my money."

Sakura looked up from her plate as the conversation died down. It was now or never. They were comfortably talking to each other, so now was the time to suggest her idea. She readied herself and gave Kakashi a small smile as she watched him finished up his bowl of rice. "Kakashi?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to apologize for the things I said yesterday. I didn't mean them and was just upset. I'm sorry. You would make a great father and you're doing well as a husband considering you didn't exactly plan for this."

Kakashi barely contained his shock as he listened to Sakura apologize, but he didn't remain silent. He had his own guilt to release. "I'm sorry about leaving yesterday. You just make me feel so unbalanced that I don't know how to react to you."

Sakura reached across the table for his hand and squeezed it gently. "Let's put this behind us. I know it feels like we've been making one mistake right after the other, but I think we can make it work this time." She locked eyes with him and grinned. "No, I know we can make it work this time."

Kakashi nodded as he squeezed her hand. "I'm willing if you are."

The grin on her face brightened as she got up from her seat and placed herself in Kakashi's lap. Ever so gently she reached up and ran a hand through his hair before pressing her lips against his. The kiss was hesitant and tasted of the rice and chicken they had for lunch, but it was kind of sweet. Soon Sakura found herself placed on the table with Kakashi hovering over her, nibbling along her jaw line. It was in that moment that Sakura remembered what she was going to ask her husband.

"Kakashi?"

"Hmm?"

It was hard to speak with him doing such pleasurable thing to her neck, but eventually Sakura was able to gently push Kakashi away from her. She gently grabbed his chin and forced him to look deep into her eyes, as if to show him the seriousness in her question.

"I want a baby. Can we try for one?"

Kakashi blinked one, twice, before he finally comprehended what she asked. "A baby?"

Sakura nodded as she leaned forward and coyly kissed the corner of his mouth. "Not just any baby, our baby. Picture it Kakashi, maybe a handsome little boy or a beautiful little girl for us to dote on. They'll be beautiful children."

Kakashi could picture it and he wanted it. He leaned forward and intensified their kisses. He didn't even need to answer Sakura with words because the next few hours were enough to tell her exactly what he wanted.

* * *

*grins* Sakura wants a baby! So does Kakashi! Where will this leave poor Naruto and her love for Kakashi? Will they ever be together? Or is Naruto destined to love another, older, sexy ninja? I guess we'll find out later. ;P

I'm trying to keep them in character, but sometimes I feel like Kakashi is entirely too down on himself, of course he is being taken out of his element here. Ahh, he fits somehow. Anyway, if you have any comments, questions, criticism, they're all being directed to the review button. ^_^

'Til next time,

'Rayne


	7. Hello To Acceptance

Goodness, gracious, I just remembered how much I loved this story! It's speeding up a little here and I finally found a way to introduce Itachi into the story. Just remember, loves, I haven't caught up with the manga yet. In fact, the last time I read it was during the Invasion of Pain. Rayne is so behind, but who cares.

Anyway, happy readings!

* * *

Three months passed by rather quickly for Naruto as she readjusted to living back within the walls of Konoha. She even managed to actually go see Kakashi and Sakura for a dinner date. It was weird to see them all over each other, well, as all over each other as Kakashi could handle. It hurt because she'd wanted to see him pull her chair out and pat her on the shoulder. Shaking her head, she tried to focus back on her task, chakra exercises.

"Naruto-nee-chan! Naruto-nee-chan!"

The female ninja quickly turned around, trying to see who was calling her. Several of the children around the village called her that and they all sounded alike from a distance. It actually startled her a little, but once she realized it was just the children, she calmed herself down. Two little figures appeared, a black haired little girl and a blond haired little boy, clutching a basket between the two of them.

She grinned as he recognized them. They were the Tomachi twins. A pair of orphans she'd watched when they were little. They'd grow a lot since the last time she'd seen them. It actually surprised her that they remembered her.

Naruto waved at them, "Sora? Kyo?" She called out, hoping those were the right names for the two. Apparently it was, because an enthusiastic 'Naruto-nee-chan!' was her answer. Sora dropped her end of the basket and ran over, hugging Naruto around the middle. The older female laughed as she hugged her back, throwing a soft smile at the child trying to keep the basket from spilling over. "Sora, you've grown so much." She said as she patted the girl's head. "Maybe you should go help your brother."

Kyo loudly thanked Naruto, before glaring at his absentminded sister. They really were adorable. Naruto held a soft spot in her heart for them because they were orphans and she did want to see them happy. "What are you two doing here?" She asked them with a smile, reaching down and taking the basket from them.

Sora and Kyo both tried to answer her at the same time, before laughing at each other. Finally, Kyo managed to talk a little bit louder than Sora. "Iruka-sensei told us you were back in town! We wanted to bring you something to eat."

"Aww, thanks guys!" Naruto said as she opened the basket and found it full of fruits and vegetables. Obviously not the ramen she was expecting, but it was food.

Sora noticed the slightly disappointed look on her face and giggled. "Iruka-sensei said that ramen is not a good meal for training. You need fruits and vegetables!"

Naruto just smiled at them, her blue eyes dancing with laughter and pride. Sora used to never talk. She'd come so far in the time Naruto was gone. The shinobi inside the woman wondered how well she was doing in her classes at the Academy. Naruto couldn't sense any chakra control from the girl, but that wasn't unusual. "Well, I supposed Iruka-sensei is right about that." She said just to appease the girl.

Naruto sat down and grabbed an apple out, offering the basket to the twins. They all sat around the training dummy and caught up. Kyo and Sora were both in the Academy, but they still hadn't been adopted by anybody. It was actually a little sad, but because they were found on a mission, civilians were a little scared of their unknown powers and shinobi usually didn't have the time to dedicate to adopting children. All in all, it was an excellent visit, one only interrupted by the sudden appearance of Kakashi. He gave her a pointed look, before pulling out his favorite book and leaning against a tree, waiting for her.

The children had only heard of Kakashi through stories and were a little awe struck by him. Naruto just rolled her eyes and snapped them out of their daze. "Okay guys, why don't you two head back into the village?" They protested, but eventually gave in to Naruto's urging.

That left Naruto with the love of her life and the only man she wasn't allowed to touch, her teammate's husband. Sighing softly, she stood up and walked over to him. "What's up, Kakashi?'

The silver haired ninja waved at her before pocketing his little orange book. "We've got a mission." He explained shortly, shifting his weight a little. "It's just you and me on this one. We're heading into Iwa."

"Our target?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to figure out who they were looking for in Iwa. She figured this was the big test to make sure her skills were up to par with the reports. She had no doubts that they would be found accurate. Naruto had matured in many ways and she was confident in her abilities.

Kakashi looked uneasy for a few moments before answering. "Uchiha Itachi."

The simple name 'Uchiha' made Naruto's skin crawl just a little bit. She instantly felt a little weak-kneed and nearly had to grab on to something. Kakashi seemed to notice and reached out to steady her. His hand on her shoulder did such wonderful things for her, but she couldn't revel in it. She separated herself from him, wrapping an arm around her own waist to give herself some comfort. She was used to having to hug herself, after all. "Why Itachi?" She asked with a tiny bit of bitterness in her voice. "Why now?"

The silver haired ninja sighed softly, pulling out the scroll containing the mission's perimeters. "Tsunade wants him to return to the village. Some new documents have been discovered and she wants to bring him back to the village for a fair trial. He's agreed to come." Kakashi shifted his weight again, bouncing from foot to foot. Being around Naruto made him nervous and he wasn't entirely sure why. He just knew that he was looking forward to this mission. He needed to get away from Sakura. She'd discovered just this morning that she wasn't pregnant once more. No matter how hard they tried, Sakura wasn't getting pregnant. She'd even made him change his underwear. Not cool at all. "Supposedly, he's gotten in touch with her after he found out that Sasuke was killed." Kakashi winced a little, knowing it was a touchy subject, but Sasuke's death was a factor in their mission.

Naruto nodded, not even taking time to think anything about Sasuke's death. She'd put it behind her and she would be fine with it, eventually. "She wants us to bring him to Konoha? For what? A fair trial isn't all. She doesn't want to lose that bloodlimit." Maybe Naruto was being a little harsh, but she saw no reason for Itachi to be brought back. It would only open already closed wounds. "They've torn down the Uchiha Compound there is nothing here for him."

Kakashi could understand where the anger came from. Itachi started the downwards spiral that motivated Sasuke into betraying the village. He just couldn't let Naruto hold all of that anger inside her heart. Naruto was forgiving. She wasn't the one who went looking for revenge. "Naru," Kakashi said softly, "Konoha is his home. Home is always here for him, whether we like it or not. He deserves a fair trial with the information they've found."

The female shinobi sighed loudly, glaring over at him for a few moments. She hated when Kakashi was right about these things. "Fine." She huffed out. "We'll let him have his fair trial, but I won't be nice to him." Naruto turned around a little too quickly, but regained her footing. "What time do we leave?"

"In two hours." Kakashi answered, looking up at the blue sky. "Remember Naruto, this is an escort mission, not assassination. He's got to come into Konoha without a mark on him."

The blond shinobi nodded as she waved at him. "Gotcha. See you in an hour." She brought her fingers together and disappeared in a swirl of leaves, leaving Kakashi to stand there for a few moments before disappearing himself.

* * *

Naruto had only been to Iwa a few times in her entire life. Mostly she'd been with Jiraiya, but she'd been with Kakashi once before and all she remembered was the way some of the civilians looked at him. She knew that he looked like his father, but surely their memories didn't run that deep? Even the children looked terrified. Of course, that could have been Kakashi's own reputation preceding him. He was a scary man, a sexy scary man, but a scary one all the same. Anyway, Naruto and Kakashi were set to meet Itachi in a small tea house off the main road.

Kakashi wasn't visibly affected by the strange perimeters of the mission, but Naruto had been set on edge. There was just something in the air that made her skin hum in the humid air. Kakashi had been acting strange the entire time they traveled from Konoha. He'd freeze around her sometimes, before disappearing to scout or other things like that. She could even swear when they were teasing each other that she'd seen him blush. Of course, that could have just been a trick of the light. Shaking her head, Naruto scolded herself. She needed to focus on the mission, not on her nonexistent love life. "Where is he supposed to be?" She grunted out, blue eyes scanning the small crowd there.

Kakashi shrugged as he leaned against the wall of the tea house. "Naruto, I know Itachi better than you do, when he wants to be seen, he'll show himself. For now, let's grab a seat." He pointed to a secluded area in the corner where they would be able to see the entire tea house.

Naruto went over and slid into the booth, huffing a little as she rested her elbow on the low table. "This is ridiculous, Kakashi." She flicked her eyes over at him, lips twitching up into a smile as he poured them both some tea.

"I'm aware, but you're being impatient." He said simply as he took a sip of his tea.

Naruto pouted over at him, noticing that he was drinking through the mask. Honestly. "How do you do that?" Momentarily distracted by the frustration she had at having to wait for Itachi of all people.

Kakashi winked at her, which looked a little ridiculous since he only had the one eye. "Genjutsu, Naruto. You always were a little oblivious to them."

The blonde shinobi's eyes widened in outage, sputtering out the tea she had tried to drink. "Hey! I'm not oblivious to them." She insisted, flicking a bit of the sugar over at him. "Not everyone can see genjutsu like you can."

He just hummed as he deflected the sugar, flicking some back over at her. This was the part of Kakashi that made Naruto want to melt. When he was playful and serious at the same time. He was just someone that she could see herself loving for the rest of her life. Too bad he was married. The thought made her come right back down to Earth and sigh a little too loudly. The sound caught some unwanted attention especially that of the hooded man who walked through the door. Kakashi looked up from his tea as soon as the man walked in and nodded towards him.

That's when Naruto knew, Itachi was in the building.

* * *

And there we go! Itachi is in the building. The build up is kind of slow here on out. Itachi comes in and adds an extra element to everything. It's going to be sweet.

Until next time,

'Rayne


End file.
